Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color

“Give[s] hints of the artisan’s hidden inner life. [Day] came across as subservient in his newspaper ads, promising that commissions ‘will be thankfully received and punctually attended to.’ But he sent his children to an abolitionist boarding school in Massachusetts and wrote them that he longed to leave ‘the Oppressive South.’”—New York Times

“Exhaustively researched . . . with . . . gorgeous full-color photographs of more than 160 pieces of furniture and architectural woodwork that Day produced between 1835 and 1861.”—News & Observer

“This long-awaited book . . . is the first significant scholarly examination of Day and his work. . . . The product of decades of research. . . . Is a foundation on which future scholars can build the often-forgotten story of North Carolina’s free black community, and it is also a call to scholars in other states, North and South, to search out similar stories that puncture the myth of a monolithic antebellum society.”—North Carolina Historical Review

“Provide[s] the most comprehensive inventory of Thomas Day’s furniture and architectural woodwork to date. This is an invaluable volume. . . . Marshall and Leimenstoll have indeed broken new ground by better illuminating the work of one of America’s greatest craftsman and by placing his life and business within a larger context that will interest readers beyond academe and the fields of history and material culture.”—Winterthur Portfolio

“This beautifully-illustrated book offers exceptionally skillful and sensitive readings of the artifactual and textual evidence. It is recommended for academic libraries, museums and large public libraries, and for all collections that support programs in African American studies and American cultural history more generally.”—Art Libraries Society of North America

“Day’s incredible story is exhaustively researched and deftly illustrated. . . . A fascinating study of both the entrepreneur and his craft. . . . [With] eye-catching photographs and engrossing text. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal

“An excellent book about the craftsman’s remarkable life. Building upon decades of research, the authors have produced the most comprehensive publication on this figure to date. . . . The photographs . . . are abundant and of high quality.”—American Craft

“Comprehensively researched and delightfully written. . . . The authors successfully advance the body of knowledge of free African American craftsmen in the antebellum period . . . Indispensable for all collections that focus on art history and the decorative arts, African American history, the antebellum era, and regional collections.”—CHOICE

“Thomas Day is to be lauded as a significant achievement in scholarship on free black artisans of the South.”—Journal of Southern History

“An excellent addition to the continuing research of early North Carolina furniture.”—Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians

Thomas Day’s creative genius, his skill in the design and fabrication of furniture and decorative woodwork, and the scope of his business establishes him as a major founder of the North Carolina furniture industry.–John H. Haley, Associate Professor of History Emeritus, University of North Carolina Wilmington