Saw this beauty listed on Hilton Head Marketplace. It said, “elderly owner has sold his home with all contents but a few items, like this slant desk, were too emotional to part with”. He wanted to “pass the baton” onto someone who would love and care for his grandfathers desk. Turns out his grandfather was a doctor on Beacon Hill in Boston named, Dr. Jack Haley. The desk was made in Marblehead, Mass and in my opinion is an important piece. I paid him all he wanted, $300, but felt like that was stealing. He gave me the chair as well because his grandfather used to sit in it.
He told me he just lost his wife and decided it was time to see a bit of the world. He wanted to travel to Ireland before he died. He was part of the “lost children of Ireland”, supposedly orphaned and left with the Sisters of Mercy (Catholic Church) in Tuam, Ireland, until he was saved by a family in Boston. He cried and so did I. The brutality these children endured was horrific.
Antiquing often leads me to hearing the stories behind the furniture. That is what makes this hobby so special.
I told him I will love and care for his pieces because I was from Boston, sailed the ocean off of Marblehead and would appreciate all the history that the desk and chair contain.
These are a few items that will stay in my collection.