A Chippendale Carved Mahogany Reverse-Serpentine Slant-Front Desk, Attributed to William King (b. 1754 - after 1806) Salem, MA, Circa 1785

Raised on gadrooned ogee bracket feet, with period brasses and carrying handles.

H: 42 3/4 in. W: 44 1/2 in. D: 24 1/2 in.

Property from the Buck Family Collection, Philadelphia

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance:

Bernard & S. Dean Levy Inc., New York, NY, 1976.

Note:

This slant-front desk, exhibiting gadrooned ogee bracket feet, appears to be one of a small group of desks and chests that are all attributed to William King of Salem, Massachusetts. Most recently, a near identical example was sold at Christie's, New York, from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Max R. Zaitz (January 2016, lot 181). That piece had originally been built for Captain David Smith and his wife Mary "Polly" (Collins) Smith.

Another example, a chest of drawers, also sold at Christie's, New York from the Collection of Mrs. J. Insley Blair (January 21, 2006, lot 526 and January 24, 2014, lot 135). This piece was illustrated as the frontispiece in The Magazine Antiques (September 1927).

Yet another chest, again with near identical feet, is in the Peabody Essex Museum and was previously illustrated in Dean Fales' Essex County Furniture: Documented Treasures from Local Collections, 1660-1860, fig. 25.

William "Bill" Clifton Buck (1928-2023) was a successful businessman, avid sportsman, and leader within the Philadelphia community. Bill attended Lafayette College, where he majored in Economics, and later joined the family business, Smith Kline and French (later GlaxoSmithKline). Alongside his brothers, he founded and expanded The Drug House and later established TDH, a venture capital firm that invested in major companies such as ESPN and Staples. Bill married Laura Thomas (1931-2024) in 1954, and they enjoyed a vibrant 68-year marriage. Together, they were active philanthropists, supporting numerous organizations and causes in Nantucket, Vero Beach, and Philadelphia, including the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In addition, Bill’s lifelong passion for baseball led him to become a partner in the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981, and he cherished the team's successes, including the 2008 World Series win.

“Bucktucket,” their beloved Nantucket residence, offered an impressive backdrop for the couple’s collection of Nantucket art. The furnishings of Bucktucket, a traditional cedar-shake house, and of the couple’s Villanova residence seamlessly blended their varied interests into an inviting and cohesive aesthetic. Bill and Laura loved discovering just the right things to fill their homes, meeting artists and dealers along the way. Their collection is marked by several spectacular pieces, including fine period furniture, maritime painting, scrimshaw, sailor’s valentines, wool-work pictures, ceramics, and folk art, offered within this single-owner sequence.