The Collectors' Forum at Old Sturbridge Village seeks to bring together scholars, connoisseurs, collectors, and enthusiasts for an entertaining and informative day of lectures, performances and programming.

Delightfully designed and intricately inlayed, the furniture of Nathan Lombard (1777-1847) stands out among the rich traditions of cabinetmaking found in rural Massachusetts in the early 1800s. To celebrate the opening of our exhibit Delightfully Designed: The Furniture and Life of Nathan Lombard, the fall 2013 Collectors' Forum will not only explore Nathan Lombard's story of inlaid furniture making, but will put his work within the context of cabinetmaking in Worcester County during the Early Republic.

Historical accounts recall how Lombard's workshop employed numerous journeymen and apprentices, and, as his business was situated at the crossroads of a busy intersection in Sutton, Lombard played a prominent role in the town's furniture-making activity. Throughout the day, we will examine Lombard's inlay and construction techniques and present newly-discovered insights into his business and family.

However, Nathan Lombard was not working in isolation; he was part of a tradition of talented, local cabinetmakers moving among and around this area. We will also explore this region's important furniture making history and the close-knit woodworking community found here.

As a boy raised in Brimfield, married in Sturbridge, and settled in Sutton, Nathan's story is a very local one and the exhibit at Old Sturbridge Village will represent the largest assembling of Lombard's furniture since they left his workshop. Join us as we celebrate the furniture and life of Nathan Lombard and his contemporaries.

Preliminary schedule of events for the Collectors' Forum

Saturday, October 19th, 2013, at Old Sturbridge Village, 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Please check back often for additional updates.

• Morning welcome by Jim Donahue, President of Old Sturbridge Village, and Jane Nylander, preeminent decorative arts scholar and OSV trustee.

• Lectures on Nathan Lombard by Brock Jobe, Professor of American Decorative Arts, Winterthur Museum; Christie Jackson, Curator of Decorative Arts, Old Sturbridge Village; and Clark Pearce, furniture scholar. These lectures will examine Nathan Lombard's construction techniques, personal history, and the evolution of our understanding of Nathan Lombard's furniture from a scholarly and market standpoint.

• Lunch hosted by Norm Abram, speaking informally of the ‘Everyday carpenter.'

• Afternoon conversations about the recreation of newly-discovered Lombard decorative finishes and the conservation of Lombard pieces.

Throughout the afternoon, we will have several Village-wide events including:

• Curator's tour of Delightfully Designed: The Furniture and Life of Nathan Lombard exhibit

• Demonstrations of OSV's sawmill which is erected on the site that David Wight (1761-1813) first prepared in the 1790s. Today, a recreation of the 19th century Nichols-Colby Sawmill of Bow, New Hampshire, shows guests how an up-and-down saw prepared wood, an important resource for local cabinetmakers.

• Demonstrations by artisans showing traditional woodworking practices, including how sand-shading, inlay work, and carving were carried out in the period.

 Program Fee Includes:

• Museum Admission
• All Forum Programs/Presentations
• Morning Coffee & Tea Reception
• 10% discount at the Museum Gift Shop and New England Book Store (on day of event)

OSV Members receive a discount on this program fee; become an OSV Member here.

Reservations are required; register online below or by calling 508-347-3362.  You may also send us a message with any questions or for more information.