Nathaniel Demeritt's Signature

Yesterday, I went to the New Hampshire Historical Society to look at photos of the O’Kane-Demeritt House taken by Doug Armsden in 1955 for a Demeritt “Home of the Month” Feature in New Hampshire Profiles magazine.  The 5″ x 7″ negatives show the original interior fireplaces in all their glory, and I will share the scans with you folks of the internet as soon as we receive them.

While at the library, I asked Librarian Bill Copeley to see the 1798 second edition of Asher Benjamin’s The Country Builder’s Assistant containing the signature of Nathaniel Demeritt.  There are two other signatures in the book, Samuel Furber, dated 1816, and Gorden Demeritt, dated 1826.  We could tell that much of the trim in the house was derived from Benjamin’s designs, but it would seem that they were derived from this very book.  I was especially interested in the penciled notes in the margins.  On the back of a plate with an example of a front elevation, someone wrote, “A Fine House.”  More photos, below: