Collections record Beta

Collection Record Detail

Object Name

Walking Wheel

Object Number

2018-45-1 a-c

Description

Large great wheel or walking wheel with table made by Silas Cheney of Litchfield, CT. Sloped wooden table (a) with dark finish; single rounded front leg and two rounded rear legs, inserted into table at inward angles. Table is double-stamped on the end, under the head, "S. CHENEY." Head post of dark-finished wood inserted above, rounded at top and tapering towards middle. The head post is carved flat on two sides towards the bottom, where it is inserted into table. A screw tension device of lighter wood is inserted through head post and into rear block. Long great wheel post of dark-finished wood inserted into table at the other end, with metal rod extending from one side. Removable great wheel (b) attached to rod with wooden hub, ten round wooden spokes, and thin wooden rim. Walking wheel is fitted with wooden minor's head (c), missing metal spindle. On one side of the head is an incomplete paper label for Benjamin Pierce.

Provenance

A Cheney spinning wheel sold at auction in 2015, marked "S.Cheney" in a single stamp on the table end. It was incorrectly dated to 1830, after Cheney's death. This wheel passed from a private collection to the collection of the Edmonston House in New Windsor, NY, before being offered to the Society.

Comment

Few examples of spinning wheels made by Cheney are found today, with no mention of wheels yet confirmed in Cheney's advertisements or account books. Benjamin Pierce made accelerated wheel heads in Chesterfield, NH, though the minor's head on this wheel is undoubtedly a later addition. Minor's heads were not invented until 1810, and Pierce himself was not born until 1814.