MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?536? ? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Picture/Brief?Description?of?Waddesdon?Manor?Secr?taire???Abattant? ? ????This?Secr?taire???Abattant?has?a?total?of?four?different?types?of?drawers?and? a?total?number?of?13?drawers.??? ????The?first,?like?all?other?Riesener?Secr?taire???Abattant,?is?at?the?top?just? under?the?marble?top?and?gallery.??The?next?set?of?6?drawers?are?located? behind?the?Abattant,?with?3?on?the?lower?right?side?and?the?other?3?are?on?the? lower?left?side.??As?with?F300?and?F303?at?The?Wallace?Collection,?there?are?2? drawers?that?are?located?within?a?hidden?compartment?that?is?beneath?the? lower?centre?pigeonhole.?The?final?type?of?drawer?is?located?in?the?lower? section?on?the?lower?left,?positioned?next?to?the?safe.?Each?drawer?uses?oak?for? the?sides,?back,?front?and?bottom?of?the?drawer?with?the?front?being?covered? with?different?types?of?veneer.????? Location:??Top?Drawer? ? ????The?top?drawer?of?this?secr?taire?is?very?similar?to?the?previous?ones? included?in?this?document.??The?drawer?is?made?of?oak,?with?a?veneer?on?the? front.?? ???Because?of?the?lip?around?the?sides,?top?and?the?bottom?of?the?drawer?there? were?no?visible?dovetails?on?the?front?(See?the?picture?below?and?on?the?left).?? The?back?however?had?the?now?typical?short?and?wide?through?dovetails?(See? the?lower?right?picture.)??? ????The?bottom?is?also?similar?to?the?prior?approaches?to?attaching?to?the? drawer.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?537? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Waddesdon?Manor?Secr?taire???Abattant?(Con?t)? Location:??Behind?the?Fall?front? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ????There?are?six?drawers?behind?the?abattant?in?this?secr?taire,?the? construction?of?which?is?very?similar?to?that?of?Riesener?s?other?pieces,?the? front?uses?partially?hidden?or?lapped?dovetails?with?a?wide?angle?on?the? front?and?short?wide?through?dovetails?on?the?back.??The?bottom?of?the? drawer?is,?again,?the?same?as?on?other?drawers;?the?bottom?is?slipped?into? a?rebate?that?runs?along?the?sides?and?the?front?of?the?drawer.??The? bottom?is?then?cut?with?a?curved?rebate,?allowing?the?bottom?to?slip?into? place.?? ? ????The?drawer?is?constructed?entirely?of?very?good?quality?tightly?grained?oak? which?as?with?all?other?Riesener?secr?taire???abattants.?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Location:??Secret?Drawers?Behind?the?Fall?front? ? ? ?????These?two?secret?drawers?are?identical?to?those?seen?before?that?were?made? under?Riesener?s?supervision.??Even?though?these?were?smaller?drawers?than?the? others.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?538? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Waddesdon?Manor?Secr?taire???Abattant?(Con?t)? Location:??Lower?Section????Secret??Drawer? ? ? ???These?drawers?are?behind?the?tulip?wood?veneer?that?is?located?just?under? the?top?of?this?section??(See?the?arrow?on?the?picture?on?the?left.)?They?are? referred?to?here?as??secret??because?they?are?hidden?by?the?use?of?the? veneer?on?the?front?and?the?absence?of?any?kind?of?handle?or?keyhole?that? would?indicate?that?a?drawer?was?located?there.??? ? ????Although?it?is?not?shown,?the?dovetails?and?the?construction?of?these? drawers?is?the?same?as?for?those?by?Riesener?that?have?been?shown?before? this?section.?? Location:??Lower?Section? ? ? ????Below?the?row?of??secret??drawers,?are?two?storage?compartments?followed? by?what?looks?like?four?drawers?with?gold?plated?drop?ring?handles.??The?set? of?drawers?on?the?right?appear?to?have?a?keyhole?on?the?top?drawer.??This? set,?however,?is?another?example?of?a?safe?disguised?as?a?drawer.??? ? ????The?two?drawers?on?the?left?follow?the?same?construction?methods?as?used? on?prior?drawers.??Again,?wide?angled,?lapped?dovetails?and?on?the?back? were?short?thick?through?dovetails.??As?before,?the?drawer?was?constructed? with?a?rebate?into?which?the?bottom?was?slid?into?place.?? ? ????The?materials?for?this?are?similar?to?before,?the?front,?in?this?case,?was?made? of?mahogany,?but?the?rest?of?the?drawer?was?made?of?a?fine?grained?oak.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Secret?Drawer?? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?539? ? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Picture/Brief?Description?of?Les?Arts?D?coratifs?Secr?taire???Abattant? ? ? ????While?this?secr?taire?shares?many?of?the?same?characteristics?of?other? Riesener?secr?taires.??The?materials?are?very?similar,?different?design? elements?are?present?in?other?Riesener?furniture?(e.g.,?the?ormolu,?the? basic?structure,?the?cantered?corners).?While?this?is?true?there?are?a?couple? of?unusual?characteristics.??For?example?the?use?of?levered?doors?on?the? lower?cabinet?section.??This?was?also?used?on?a?chest?of?drawers?from? Riesener?but?there?are?no?other?known?secr?taires?with?this?feature.??The? secr?taire?is?smaller?than?many?of?Riesener?s?secr?taires?(but?there?are? smaller?ones),?the?marquetry?across?the?top?drawer?is?unusual,?in?that?the? man?s?face?is?cut?out?of?one?solid?piece?of?veneer.??The?use?of?a?parquetry? pattern?in?satinwood?is?also?somewhat?unusual.?? Location:??Top?Drawer? ? ? ????This?drawer?is?located?just?under?the?white?marble?and?the?ormolu?edge?on? the?top.??The?face?of?the?drawer?is?10?cm?tall,?but?because?there?is?a?nearly? 2?cm?drop?to?get?to?the?actual?body?of?the?drawer.??Besides?this,? structurally?it?is?very?similar?to?others?by?Riesener;?both?the?front?and?the? back?dovetails?are?rather?thick,?the?oak?components?made?of?very?high? quality?fine?grained?oak,?the?bottom?is?slid?into?place?by?inserting?it?into? rebates?that?have?been?cut?into?the?sides.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Location:??Behind?the?Fall?Front? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??????Unlike?most?other?secr?taires?by?Riesener,?this?cabinet?only?has?two?small? drawers?behind?the?fall?front.??Each?is?decorated?with?tulipwood?in?the? centre?and?rosewood?banding?around?the?outside?edge.??The?handles?on? these?drawers?are?fairly?common?drop?ring?handles?that?have?been?coated? with?gold.??The?dovetails?are?very?typical?of?Riesener;?they?are?wide?on? both?the?front?and?the?back.??The?bottom?is?slide?into?a?rebate?cut?into?the? lower?section?of?the?sides?with?small?pins?(possibly?added?later)?in?the?back? of?the?drawer.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?540? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Les?Arts?D?coratifs?Secr?taire???Abattant?(Con?t)? Location:??Behind?the?Fall?Front?(Con?t)? ? ? ? Location:??Lower?Section?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ????This?section?is?not?actually?a?drawer,?but?a?set?of?shelves?and?a??safe.???This?safe? consists?of?a?locked?fall?front?door,?made?with?slightly?thicker?wood?than?the?rest? of?the?desk.??The?fall?front?is?decorated?similarly?to?the?internal?drawers?in?the?top? section?(it?is?covered?with?tulipwood?with?a?rosewood?banding)?except?that?it? does?not?have?ormolu?drop?ring?handles.?The?only??decoration??is?a?single?keyhole? with?brass?surrounding?it.???The?construction?is?quit?straight?forward,?the?body?of? the?door?front?is?made?of?oak?with?the?main?section?having?the?grain?run?across? and?with?two?end?pieces?where?the?grain?runs?perpendicular?to?the?grain?of?the? main?section.???The?back?plate?of?this?lock?is?made?of?steel.??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?541? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Versailles?Secr?taire???Abattant? ? ???This?secr?taire???abattant,?as?stated?in?the?overview,?was?produced?for?the? French?Royal?family?under?somewhat?rushed?conditions?(they?asked?that?this?be? produced?in?two?months.)?Probably?as?a?result?of?this?there?are?a?number?of? differences?between?this?model?and?the?others.??As?discussed?in?the?main?body?of? the?text,?this?could?have?resulted?in?this?secr?taire?being?produced?either?by?a? subcontracted?shop?or?Riesener?s?workshop?took?a?number?of?shortcuts.?? ???The?drawers?present?a?number?of?these?differences.??First?the?dovetails?start? wide?and?become?wider,?second?how?the?bottom?is?attached?is?different.??While? attached?using?rebates,?the?bottom?itself?does?not?have?a?rebate?cut?out;?instead? the?bottom?is?the?same?thickness?all?the?way?across?the?bottom.?? ???The?next?difference?concerned?the?locks,?while?other?pieces?had?three?locks? (one?on?the?abattant?that?locks?both?the?abattant?and?the?upper?drawer,?one?on? the?doors?opening?the?bottom?cabinet,?and?one?on?the?safe.)?with?two?keys?(one? for?the?abattant?and?lower?cabinet?door,?and?one?for?the?safe.)?This?model?has? eight?locks?(one?on?the?upper?drawer,?one?on?the?door?of?the?abattant,?two? inside?the?fall?front???one?on?each?of?the?four?drawers,?one?on?the?doors?of?the? lower?cabinet?and?one?on?the?safe.)?? Location:??Top?Drawer? ? ???This?drawer?is?located?in?the?top?section?above?the?abattant?and?below?the? white?veined?marble?top.??The?dovetails?were?wide?at?the?base?then?they? gradually?became?wider?(other?dovetails?by?the?Riesener?workshop?were?very? narrow?to?begin,?then?became?wider).??? ????As?stated?in?the?introduction,?the?bottom?was?slide?into?the?sides?via?a?rebate.?? Unlike?other?Riesener?drawers,?these?did?not?have?a?rebate?cut?into?the?bottom? itself???instead?the?bottoms?were?flat?throughout?the?with?of?the?board.?? ? ? ? ? ? MAKING?FASHIONABLE?FURNITURE???APPENDIX?D:??DRAWER?CONSTRUCTION?????????????????????????????????????PAGE?542? ? Over?View?of?Drawer?Construction? Location:??Behind?the?Fall?Front? ? ? ????One?of?the?differences?between?this?secr?taire???abattant?and?the?other? models?is?the?arrangement?of?the?internal?structures?behind?the?abattant.?? The?differences?are?that?there?are?two?drawers?on?each?side?of?the?centre? pigeonhole?and?the?arrangement?of?the?pigeonholes?themselves.??In?most? cases,?there?are?six?pigeonholes?and?there?are?six?drawers?in?total.??In?this? model,?there?are?five?pigeonholes?and?four?drawers.?? ? ? ????Another?variation?is?that?each?of?the?small?drawers?locks.??In?other?models? the?abattant?is?locked?but?not?the?individual?drawers.???The?locks?are?shown? in?the?appendix?on?other?constructional?elements.???? ? ? ? ? ?