On display for the holiday season at the Newport Historical Society’s Museum & Shop at Brick Market wss an elegant table setting in a recreated corner of an 18th century merchant’s parlor.
The large and beautiful dining table was made in Newport for the Marchant family. Henry Marchant was a lawyer and farmer who practiced law in Newport and farmed in South County. He was State Attorney General of Rhode Island in the 1770s, a delegate to the Continental Congress, a delegate to the Rhode Island General Assembly after the war, and was the first judge of the US District Court for Rhode Island. Marchant’s son, William, practiced law in Providence, and this table stood in his office there. It was passed down from father to son until 2010, when it was donated to the Newport Historical Society by Jane Cole.
The table was recently added to the Society’s museum. Laid out on the table was the dessert course of a period holiday meal, featuring items such as Chinese export porcelain and Newport-made pewter from the 18th century.
The mid-18th century was a prosperous time for Newport. Residents enjoyed access to a wide array of goods through world-wide trade, and the merchants conducting that trade became quite well off. Depending on one’s relative wealth, dining could be a simple affair or quite elaborate with several courses including dessert. Newporters in the 18th century were influenced by European styles in food and tableware, with the wealthiest residents most closely following the trends. The winter holidays however were celebrated in a more subtle manner (if at all). Rather than decorate with elaborate ornaments, a prosperous family might set the table with their finest china and serve sumptuous meals.
You can read an early federal period Newport recipe for Fruit Gingerbread here.
The Museum & Shop at Brick Market, 127 Thames Street, is open daily 10am – 5pm. For more information phone 401-841-8770.