American Late Classical Mahogany Game Table with Asheville History

Circa 1860, mahogany veneer, poplar and white pine secondary, rectangular top with canted corners and reeded edge, swivel hinged lid, burl veneered skirt with applied molded edge, ring and spiral turned support, quadruped base with laurel leaf carved scrolled knees and rosettes, molded down-swept legs, brass paw feet and casters.

29.5 x 36 x 18 in.

The underside of the central medial board with original stencil reading "Capt. T. W. Patton, Asheville, North Carolina."

In an excerpt from Captain Patton's son's (Thomas Walton Patton) diary he describes some of the extraordinary details of his father: "Captain Patton was born in the Eagle hotel in 1841 and is of Irish descent. He has been identified with nearly every notable event and feature of public progress that has advanced this town from a hamlet to a village and a village to a city. Under his administration as mayor the public improvements, such as street paving and the building of the present water works, were conducted with vigor yet with watchful economy, and the good work has had an imperishable effect in promoting the spirit of civic pride and enterprise that is today so alive and strong in Asheville...He was a captain in the confederate army and an adjutant in the Spanish, American war. He fought in several famous battles and has always preserved a special affection for the men with whom he underwent the vigorous campaign of the '60's. In the Spanish-American war, to which he also enlisted, accompanying the Asheville boys to Cuba, he remembered the former hardships of the soldier's life and did much to overcome the troubles that beset his comrades. When there was delay in the government's paying the soldiers, for some reason, Captain Patton personally saw that the boys were supplied with money and at one time when he did not have the ready cash he wrote to George W. Pack of this city and secured the loan of $500."

He was loved by blacks and whites alike for his generosity to people in need. "The Law said he was my slave but often Law makes error,” Patton wrote about his former slave Sam Cope. “Indeed and in fact he was my devoted and loving friend and companion.” Captain Patton died in 1907 as a result of blood poisoning, and was noted as one of the most prominent and beloved citizens of Asheville, North Carolina.

Overall good estate condition; the top with some minor staining and light scratches; surface spotting to veneered skirt; later metal bracing to the underside of the legs; three of the legs with tight hairlines near joint (possible previous repair); finish inconsistency to base. Note the image of Capt. Patton is not included with this lot but is used for visual reference.