Thomas Day (c. 1801 – c. 1861) was a free black American furniture designer and cabinetmaker in Caswell County, North Carolina. Day's furniture-making business became one of the largest of its kind in North Carolina, employing at one point up to twelve workers, and distributing furniture to wealthier customers throughout the state. Much of Day's furniture was produced for prominent political leaders, the state government, and the University of North Carolina.
Day was born to free black parents in Dinwiddie County, Virginia around 1801. His family moved to Warren County, North Carolina in 1817, and then to Caswell County sometime after 1822. Day began his cabinetmaking business in Milton, North Carolina with his brother, John Day, Jr., but his brother left Caswell County by 1825, leaving the cabinetry business solely to Thomas.[1] John Day would later emigrate to Liberia and serve as Chief Justice of Liberia.
After his furniture business became profitable, Day married Aquilla Wilson of Halifax County, Virginia in 1830, and had three or four children.
Day's furniture-making business, though owned by a free black American, employed the use of both black slaves and of white apprentices, despite the general belief that Day, as a free man, was of lower social stature than his white apprentices.[2]
As a businessman, Day was quite successful, at one point becoming a stockholder in the State Bank of North Carolina, and Day owned significant real estate, including his place of business and residence.[3] This was highly unusual for a free person of color in the era before the American Civil War. Day had even managed to steam-power much of his furniture-making implements, which aided greatly in his production volume and efficiency.[4] A national economic panic in 1857 caused Day's furniture business to suffer heavily, and in 1861 or at some time shortly after, Thomas Day died, although his exact death date is not known due to the lack of local public records.[5] Day's home and workshop have been restored and are significant points of local and state history.[6] In addition, his furniture was and is still seen as some of the highest quality antebellum, native furniture in North Carolina.[4] Pieces of Day's work have been displayed at various museums throughout North Carolina and Virginia, and an exhibit of Day's work opened at the North Carolina Museum of History in May, 2010.[7]
Due to Day's status as a free black, and his unique achievements given the social and racial restrictions of the era, he is hailed as a highly important figure in the history of North Carolina's African American culture.[8]
A statue of Thomas Day stands outside the North Carolina Museum of History, along with statues of Frederick Augustus Olds and a representative Sauratown Woman.[9]
Characteristics of Thomas Day's Furniture
In contrast to carpentry and milling of it’s time, which was mostly produced as separate entities, Day’s creations were crafted as unique pieces that each played an essential role in a holistic architectural composition. Thomas Day hailed the parlor as the pinnacle of his projects. He designed the millwork around it as reverberations of the style used in the parlor. His distinctive woodwork in these types of rooms often included an elaborate mantel between two arched niches. The dramatic effect caused by the variety of depth is a unique characteristic of Day’s parlors.
The movement created by the imposing mantel and receding niches is extended into the woodwork detail. Fluted casing often accompanies the niches, with a focal point created by a keystone at the highest point of the arch. Thomas Day’s mantels are also exceptionally detailed, as they were the central focus of the parlor. A Day mantel consists of a thick shelf supported by columns that appear to be freestanding. Ionic capitals are a common feature of these columns. [10]