Secretary LXVI stamped Martin Carlin

Restoration of a Louis XVI period lady's secretary stamped with Martin Carlin JME. The frame is made of solid oak, with softwood for the drop-front and lower leaf. The exterior is entirely veneered in Honduran mahogany, except for the top edge, which is adorned with a thin strip of amaranth. The interiors are veneered with rosewood, amaranth, and stringing of boxwood and ebony. A particularly interesting feature: the upper interior panel has never been restored and still retains its original finish, a magnificent polish that has preserved its colors and satin sheen.

Note: the lock on the toilet seat, its keyhole and the red velvet have been added.

Originally from Freiburg im Breisgau in the principality of Baden in Germany Martin Carlin (c. 1730-1785) obtained his master craftsman's certificate on July 30, 1766, in Paris. In 1759, he married Marie-Catherine Oeben, one of the sisters of the cabinetmaker Jean-François Oeben, for whom he worked as a hired craftsman. They had three children. After completing his master's degree, he established himself on the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, under the sign of "Le Saint-Esprit" or "La Colombe." Although he never received the title of Cabinetmaker to the Crown, Carlin fulfilled numerous commissions for the royal family. He worked through the merchants with whom he collaborated, such as Simon-Philippe Poirier and Dominique Daguerre. Among his most famous clients were Queen Marie Antoinette, the Countess of Provence, and Mesdames, daughters of Louis XV. Under Louis XVI, Martin Carlin established himself as the master of furniture adorned with Sèvres porcelain plaques, commissioned directly from the factory. He mainly creates small, light, precious, and feminine pieces of furniture: small tables, pedestal tables, music stands, bonheur-du-jour desks, or jewelry boxes, veneered in rosewood, amaranth, or ebony. More rarely, he also creates marquetry pieces depicting flowers and objects.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• French Furniture of the 18th Century – Pierre Kjellberg – Les Editions de l'Amateur – 2008
• The art and technique of French master cabinetmakers of the 18th century – Jean Nicolay – 1956

We find our secretary mentioned in Jean Nicolay's book. Here is an illustration and description:

Capable of anything, CARLIN manufactured furniture of classic and impeccable simplicity, such as this secretary (fig.D) belonging to the Simone Berriau collection and which was sold for 20,500 francs.

The art and technique of French master cabinetmakers of the 18th century – Jean Nicolay – 1956

State of affairs report

This secretary desk is in good overall condition. Apart from a few scratches, the sides show no signs of warping. There are a few veneer "bells" that need to be reattached and some losses to the amaranth leaf on the top edge of the drawer. The main work will therefore focus on the gap caused by an arched support on the lower door and cracks in the door itself due to the dimensional shrinkage of the solid wood.

The Restoration

We first removed the veneer from the lower door to restore its core of softwood and solid oak. We then reinstalled it and glued it in place using a hot-glue technique with mammalian glue. We added a mahogany veneer strip to the left side to compensate for the loss of width in the veneer. Placed beneath the bronze, this addition will be invisible.

We glued the gap in the hinge cheek with fish glue. Small grafts of mahogany veneer, sawn, scraped and sanded before gluing, filled the gaps.

We grafted amaranth onto the edge band of the drawer. We cut it with a fretsaw to preserve as much of the old veneer as possible.

All the locks have been fitted with a custom-made key.

We kept the finish: we simply lightened and regenerated the old varnish, before applying a new coat of varnish with a pad.

We cleaned the bronzes with a diluted EDTA solution, then reattached them with their original screws, where they still existed. We simply cleaned and re-waxed the Sarrancolin marble.

To see previous restorations : https://ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr/en-ce-moment-a-latelier/

You can find this piece of furniture at Etienne Thuriet Antique Dealer