'''Goddard and Townsend''' (or Townsend-Goddard) is a rare style of furniture made in Newport,_Rhode_Island in the 18th century. The furniture is named after Townsend and Goddard families, who were cabinentmakers in Newport. The families were related through marriage. John Townsend (1733-1809) and John Goddard (1724-1785) were among the most famous of the artisans and many of their works were signed. The furniture often featured a uniquely American blend of alternating convex and concave blocks and shells. Twenty-one members of successive generations of these two intermarried families worked as cabinetmakers over a period of 120 years, selling their products not only in New England but also in the coastal trade and in the West Indies. Magazine Antiques; April, 1995 - Ralph E. Carpenter A single Mahogany secretary bookcase made by Christopher Townsend (John's father) in 1740 sold at auction in New York for $8.25 million. John Goddard made a famous six-shell desk-bookcase for Providence merchant Nicholas_Brown. It was sold by the Brown family in 1989, for-- $12.1 million -- a record for a piece of American furniture at auction. The Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art, Boston_Museum_of_Fine_Art, and Preservation_Society_of_Newport_County own works of Goddard-Townsend. ==References and external links== *Billy Van Siclen, "The Townsend Touch: Newport's furniture-design revolutionary finds a showcase at the Met in New York," ''Providence Journal'', Sunday, May 22, 2005 *Redwood Library Records of the Goddards and Townsends * ==See also== * List_of_furniture_designers. {{furniture-stub}} Category:Furniture Category:Rhode_Island_culture Category:Chairs Category:People_from_Rhode_Island Category:Furniture_designers Category:Furniture_makers