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A lowboy is an American collectors term for one type of dressing table, vanity, or duchess ( Australian English).Lowboy is a "collectors term for a dressing table made in 18th century America often with a matching highboy ". It is a small table with one or two rows of drawers, so called in contradistinction to the tallboy or highboy chest of drawers.


History and description

Lowboys and tallboys were favorite pieces of the 18th century, both in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
; the lowboy was most frequently used as a dressing-table, but sometimes as a side-table. It is usually made of oak,
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...
or
mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Un ...
, with the drawer-fronts mounted with brass pulls and escutcheons. The more elegant examples in the Queen Anne, early Georgian, and Chippendale styles often have
cabriole leg A cabriole leg is one of (usually) four vertical supports of a piece of furniture shaped in two curves; the upper arc is convex, while lower is concave; the upper curve always bows outward, while the lower curve bows inward; with the axes of th ...
s, carved knees, and slipper or claw-and-ball feet. The fronts of some examples also are sculpted with the scallop-shell motif beneath the center drawer. Another term for a dressing table equipped with mirrors is vanity and is used to apply makeup and other fashion accessories.


See also

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Chest of drawers A chest of drawers, also called (especially in North American English) a dresser or a bureau, is a type of cabinet (a piece of furniture) that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers generally stacked one above another. In American English a ...
*
Commode A commode is any of many pieces of furniture. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has multiple meanings of "commode". The first relevant definition reads: "A piece of furniture with drawers and shelves; in the bedroom, a sort of elaborate chest ...
*
List of desk forms and types This is a list of different types and forms of desks. Desk forms and types * Armoire desk * Bargueño desk *Bible box *Bonheur du jour * Bureau à gradin *Bureau brisé * Bureau capucin * Bureau Mazarin *''Bureau plat'', see Writing table * But ...
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Sideboard A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers ...


Citations


General and cited references

* * ; Attribution *


External links

{{Wiktionary
Dressing Tables
collection at the
Disseny Hub Barcelona The Museu del Disseny de Barcelona (Catalan, English: "Barcelona Design Museum"), is a center for Barcelona's Institute of Culture, which works to promote better understanding and good use of the design world, acting as a museum and laboratory. It ...
Cabinets (furniture) Furniture