XI
HUNTING BOARDS
THE hunting boards around which the owners of Southern plantations gathered their friends before and after the hunt, resemble the sideboard in plan and execution, and served to some degree the same purpose. They were often in plain designs, and served as a part of the equipment of the homes. With the Southern
forests rich with game and the housewife eager for the results of the day's hunt, the sport was indulged in by all classes. The richer homes displayed finer types, with the Hepplewhite and Sheraton influence at work on the best of them, and some of them, unusually well made, were prize pieces. As a general rule, they are taller than the sideboards, and their design leads one to believe that they were used chiefly in halls where members of the hunt could stand and partake of wine and food in the fashion of a buffet lunch. The sketches show plain types found in the rural sections.
PLATES
PLATE I. Chippendale Side Table—Walnut. (Virginia—c. 1770). A large table that might have been used for the purpose of a hunting board. It shows Chippendale influence; in fact, almost an exact copy of one of his plates. (Property of Joe Kindig, Jr.).
PLATE II. Hepplewhite Hunting Board or Silver Table—Walnut. (North Carolina—c. 1770-1785). A felt top on this Hepplewhite hunting board suggests that it might have been put to use as a silver table. The legs are square and chamfered, indicating that the Chippendale influence had extended itself into the '80's on this board. Some question arises as to the handles in the piece. This matter is a debatable one. This piece shows the wine drawer in the center. (Property of Mrs. J. L. Brockwell).
PLATE III. Hepplewhite Hunting Board or Table—Walunt. (Virginia—c. 1790). This is a particularly fine
