The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-12-01
4 LENGTHY TASK FINISHED
Massachusetts Man Constructs
49, Table from Thousands Of
f Bits of Wood.

After 16 years of labor, off and on,
Llewellyn Cunningham, of 1874 Adams
street, Dorchester, has recently COM
pleted table which stands unique as
specimen of handiwork with carpen-
ters' tools. When it is stated that in
the construction of this piece of furni-
ture the maker has utilized over 100 900
separate pieces of wood, the reader will
have slight idea of the magnitude of
the task. It is not alone in this, how
ever, that the interest in the table lies,
for, included in the immense number of
pieces worked into it's construction
there are 27o different species of wood,
from all parts of the world, as well as
relics from railroad disasters, floods,
big fires, battlefelds and old govern
ment ships and other commemorative
of important events. .s.s' !
Mr.. Cunningham began work on the
table in 1882, then having considerable
leisure at his disposal, and from that
time until the present he has worked
a few hours each day upon the affair.
During all these years he has kept strict
account of the hours so spent, and he
reckons them at 1892. The result is
that in it's completed state the table is
not only ornamental, but useful as we'll.
BY Mr.. Cunningham's ingenuity, pa
tience and perseverance he has worked
every piece together, however small,
into odd and striking designs, which are
inlaid on the top, bottom and legs.
The central design in the top is a
checker board, which contains the
largest pieces to be found in the table.
These are 11s inches square. The finest
work, into which are worked the small
est pieces, figures about 100 Of them to
the square inch. OF the various soft
woods a very small piece of each has
been utilized. Of the hard and rare
woods many pieces of the same kind
| were used. These woods were obtained
at considerable expense and labor, and
came from every state or territory in
Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
island, Cape Breton island, British Co.
lumbia, Quebec, Montreal, Manitoba.
Mexico, Chilli, Peru, the Andes noun
tains, Bolivia, United States of Colon
bia, Honduras, Venezuela, the Guianas,
Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Rio de
Janeiro, Trinidad, Russia, China,
Japan, Siberia, Asia Minor. Turkey in
Asia, Constantinople, Austria, Hun
gary, Prussia, Poland, Sweden, Lap
land, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal,
England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway,
Greece, Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia, Bor-
neo, Sumatra, Singapore, Arabia, Zan-
zibar, Africa, Cairo, Tasmania, Sand
wich islands, Society islands, Samoa,
Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Among the many important events
from which relics are worked into it's
construction are the railroad disaster
of Ashtabula, August 20, 1876; Spuyten
Duyvel, January 10, 1882, and the
Quincy wreck, August 10, 1890; also the
big fires of Portland, Me-, in 1860, Chi
cago in 1871, St. John, N. B., in 1877,
| Boston in 1872, and Seattle, Wash, in
1889, and the floods of Mill river, 1874,
and Johnstown, in 1889.
Other interesting souvenirs are from
the old government ships Ohio and
Merrimac; a piece of the Benedict Ar
mold house in New Haven, Conn.,; piece
of the Judges cave and the old Yale
fence in the same city; a piece of shrub
near Ledyard monument on the hill op-
posite New London; a piece of the old
Liberty elm, Boston, and the old Wash
ington elm, Cambridge; a piece of a
wrecked car at the Pittsburgh riot in
| 1877; a piece of the stock of q rife shot
off at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, and a
| piece of the deck load of the barkentine
Herbert Fuller when she lay in Halifax
| harbor.
The maker of the table shows much
well-deserved pride in displaying it to
interested persons, and has an enter
tanning tale to tell of nearly every piece
of wood used in it's construction.-Bos-
ton Herald.