RARE Eldred Wheeler tiger maple oval tavern table with wash stained base. This is the original table Eldred Wheeler submitted to the curatorial staff at SPNEA (Society for the Preservation of New England Antiques) to be approved for production. Signed by both Emmett Eldred and Bill Wheeler. Beautiful 2 board top with strong tiger grain. Hand block planed, wooden pin construction, splayed legs and cut-out apron. Original label from their shop at 60 Sharp Street, Hingham, MA. Measures 25.5 inches high, 34 inches wide and 27.75 inches deep. We have not had this form before. Please see "Eldred Wheeler / A Collector's Guide" by Emmett W. Eldred, page 226, for reference to this table. Eldred Wheeler made the finest reproductions of period American furniture. It is no longer in business. This table was copied from its eighteenth-century counterpart held in the collection of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. SPNEA copies were limited edition pieces. This is a rare piece for any collector of the original Eldred Wheeler pieces. A personal message from Emmett Wheeler: "Tom, Good to hear from you. Glad you were successful in purchasing the table... We actually made that prototype in 1991. There is a story about our working with Brock Jobe when he was at SPNEA in the Collector’s Guide starting on page 71. Brock actually was the one that suggested we make the table as is noted on page 73. Your table was the piece that passed their curatorial review. By the way, since it is out of print, a PDF of the Collector’s Guide is on the website eldredwheelerblog.com. As I mentioned to you previously, I modified the initial emmetteldredblog.com site to be simply an Eldred Wheeler reference site."