The Battle of Lake Erie took place on September 10, 1813.

According to tradition, this clothes press was given by Judge David A. Ogden (1770-1829) to his wife, Rebecca Cornell Edwards, whom he married in 1797. They went to Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York in 1811. The clothes press was purchased from Mrs. E.S. Coleman (Emilie Ogden), the great-granddaughter of Judge Ogden.

This design is derived from plate XVI of Chippendale's Director of 1762. A chair with this splat pattern appears on Copley's Portrait of Joseph Hooper, at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

This armchair is among the surviving furnishings from Federal Hall, the home of the first United States Congress located at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets. Federal Hall was remodeled for that purpose in 1788 by the French-born architect and engineer Pierre L'Enfant, who may have influenced the design of the furniture created for the government officials. The original furnishings, used by Congress for less than a year, were still stored in the building when the New-York Historical Society was headquartered there in 1809. Founder John Pintard petitioned the Common Council for use of six semi-circular tables, and they agreed. In 1837, the city donated two of the tables, two pedestal desks, two desks used by members of Congress, and four armchairs to the Historical Society.

This desk (and a mate, 1837.1) is among the surviving furnishings from Federal Hall, the home of the first United States Congress located at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets. Federal Hall was remodeled for that purpose in 1788 by the French-born architect and engineer Pierre L'Enfant, who may have influenced the design of the furniture created for the government officials. The original furnishings, used by Congress for less than a year, were still stored in the building when the New-York Historical Society was headquartered there in 1809. Founder John Pintard petitioned the Common Council for use of six semi-circular tables, and they agreed. In 1837, the city donated two of the tables, two pedestal desks, two desks used by members of Congress, and four armchairs to the Historical Society.

This object was once part of the folk art collection of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), the avant-garde sculptor. From 1924 to 1934, Nadelman's collection was displayed in his Museum of Folk Arts, located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. The Historical Society purchased Nadelman's entire collection in 1937.

According to the donor, this table once belonged to Major General Philip Schuyler (1733-1804), who resided at his mansion, "The Pastures," in Albany. Schulyer was the son of Cornelia Van Cortlandt and a descendant of Philip Pieterse Schuyler, who came to New Netherland in 1650.