Renaissance Revival Cabinet made by John B___ Manchester, MA

My wife and I just purchased this wonderful cabinet.  It is made of walnut and is covered in burl and marquetry.  The inside is all birdseye.  While there isn't a lot of carving, what is there is very well done.  The marquetry is phenomenal.  I've seen a similar center panel used on Herter attributed pieces (but I know these inlays were sold as kits).  The cabinet has great feet.  Most cabinets seem to be made to sit flush on the floor.

It was owned by one family for over 100 years and is in remarkable original condition.  The previous owner told us the family lived in Mass and then moved to Piedmont, CA in 1890.  The cabinet moved with them and has now traveled back across the country.

Inside a panel on the back is written: "Made by John B_____ Manchester, Mass 1875"  This is interesting to me, as I would have pegged this as a NY maker.  I'm not familiar with MA furniture makers and was wondering if someone on the site might be?  Also written in the back is "Top Rep Jan 4 1877" -  sure enough, the inside of the top shows evidence of a very professional repair, no doubt by the cabinet maker that originally built it.  It is funny that the most important thing written in the cabinet is illegible - the maker's last name.

Here are some pictures:

I agree, I would have though NY, too.  I think we just don't have too many from Massachusetts that are signed to know what the designs were from there to know.

Another Mass. maker  - Israel Fellows.

I have no clue as to John B's identity, but you are certainly fortunate to have such a gorgeous piece!

Maybe with a well-lit, high-quality, in-focus image of the script someone could wager a guess at what the name was?

The trouble is, the writing is inside the top of the cabinet, in a hidden compartment, so it is difficult to get good lighting and an in focus picture.  Our good camera's battery was dead, so I snapped a few quick photos with my phone.  They are in focus, but over lit.  I've tried playing around with brightness and contrast, but it doesn't help much.  The B is obvious, after that, it could be "ir", or "o"? Hard to see if there is a loop on top.  The next letter is g, y, or j.  After that, maybe r?, Then???  It possibly ends with n.

I'd love to figure this out, especially since this piece looks so NY.  I wonder how many incorrectly-attributed pieces this Maker is responsible for?

I think that this can be figured out.  Let's wait for your good camera to charge and please send me full resolution images to info @ rarevictorian.com.  I have Photoshop and can mess with contrast, brightness, etc...

We can then ask the whole of the Rare Victorian community to wager a guess via me doing a blog post.

Does it say 'Joan Bogart'?  ;)

"John  Bayaux?"