Photograph of Canterbury Purchased by Anne Brown (July 2016)
Title
Photograph of Canterbury Purchased by Anne Brown (July 2016)
Description
On June 25, 1934, Anne Seddon Kinsolving Brown discovered this music rack, called a Canterbury, for $30 at the Boat Yard Shop in Bristol, RI. Made of mahogany, and dated to England, 1810, the rack is described as a rectangular Canterbury with “fretted ends, fitted with four open partitions with inversely arched cross rails.” In 1945, Mrs. Brown had the Canterbury appraised for $250 in New York.
The history of the Canterbury dates back to the eighteenth century, when Thomas Sheraton was the first to record the term “Canterbury” in his Cabinet Dictionary. He referred to it as two different pieces of furniture with one being a small music stand with divisions for holding loose sheet music.
When sheet music became popular, due to new printing technologies, the Canterbury became an accessory to the piano, which was appearing in middle and upper class homes. It took on many styles of interior design, ranging from Georgian simplicity to Victorian exuberance and even to Chinese styles. The Browns used this Canterbury as a music stand, similar those in English homes during the 19th century.
The history of the Canterbury dates back to the eighteenth century, when Thomas Sheraton was the first to record the term “Canterbury” in his Cabinet Dictionary. He referred to it as two different pieces of furniture with one being a small music stand with divisions for holding loose sheet music.
When sheet music became popular, due to new printing technologies, the Canterbury became an accessory to the piano, which was appearing in middle and upper class homes. It took on many styles of interior design, ranging from Georgian simplicity to Victorian exuberance and even to Chinese styles. The Browns used this Canterbury as a music stand, similar those in English homes during the 19th century.
Creator
Banks III, Jesse
Source
Digital copy created by the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage
Date
2016-07
Contributor
Minah Seo
Rights
Rights Status Not Evaluated
Citation
Banks III, Jesse , “Photograph of Canterbury Purchased by Anne Brown (July 2016),” Digital Tours of The Nightingale-Brown House , accessed November 2, 2025, https://cds.library.brown.edu/NBHouse/items/show/47.