AMERICAN ORIGINALS
Chippendale Inlaid Box
Linked to Wright’s Tavern

Boston area, ca. 1760–1790.
Engraved silver nameplate “Melicent Jarvis.”

As a child growing up in Concord during the American Revolution, and later residing in Wright’s Tavern, Melicent Jarvis lived amid the unfolding legacy of the Revolution.

Link to Wright’s Tavern: Melicent Hosmer Jarvis (1768–1826) born in Concord, Massachusetts, married Deacon Francis Jarvis (1768-1840) in 1789. In 1793, Jarvis purchased Wright’s Tavern, celebrated for its vital role in the Revolution, where the Jarvis’ operated a bakery and raised their family. Wright’s Tavern is renowned as the 1774 meeting place of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, where John Hancock and Samuel Adams led discussions of independence. On April 19, 1775, following the Battle of Lexington (the “Shot Heard Round the World”) Concord’s Minutemen gathered there before challenging the British at the North Bridge. Later that day, the tavern served as headquarters for British Major John Pitcairn.

The Box: With distinctive Boston-area ogee bracket feet, this top-shelf Chippendale writing or valuables box is in mahogany with chestnut bottom board. The cockbeaded lid features an oval panel within double string inlay, centered by figured radial veneers framed by a cross-hatched border. The brass bale handle encloses the silver nameplate. Approximately 11 inches wide, 7 inches tall, and 7¼ inches deep. Retaining its original key and in outstanding condition.

This beautiful box, engraved with Melicent’s name, embodies both the skill of fine 18th-century craftsmanship and a tangible connection to one of the most storied historic landmarks of America’s founding era. Melicent and Francis rest in Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Wright’s Tavern is designated as a National Historic Landmark.