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Article: What's in a name? Duncan Phyfe is arguably the best-known, most admired, influential and widely copied American cabinetmaker. Here's the rest of the story.(FURNITURE)
- Article from:
- Antiques Roadshow Insider
- Article date:
- January 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Belvoir Media Group, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Few artisans have given their name to a style that almost everybody knows, or thinks they know. Even fewer artisans have been almost continuously in favor with furniture lovers, starting in their own lifetimes. In the opinion of most experts, New York furniture maker Duncan Phyfe is at the head of that short list.
Teen-aged Duncan Fife (as the family originally spelled its name) and his parents arrived in the United States from Scotland in 1784. By 1792 young Duncan had left Albany for bustling New York City, where he quickly became the most sought-after and highest-priced cabinetmaker in the newly rich young metropolis.
Although Phyfe's name is most ...