Comments on: Don’t Believe All That You Read, Part III

By: Arthur

Arthur — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:59:37 +0000

I have two of these (Henkels, White, Klauder, Deginther and Co. et al ?) design type chairs that you show here. They are not a match. One is much like the first one shown, the other has more detailed carving. The patterns are also somewhat different, as are each of the three that you show here. This amounts to a total of five that I have seen, each being similar, but not matching. I have never seen a sofa that could be of the same style, nor have I seen any other piece that would suggest the same maker.

The two chairs that I have are in the original finish, which appears to be shellac, judging by the rough aged texture. The color, and weight of the frame suggests walnut, as they are lighter than I think rosewood, or mahogany would be.

By: JLefever

JLefever — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:44:04 +0000

Good points. A number of years ago I researched furniture companies in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In an 1870s trade journal, the “Decorator and Furnisher”, I was surprised to read that, at least in the 1870s, Berkey & Gay did not make parlor frames, but rather commissioned frames from the (shortlived) firm of Holton & Hildreth of Chicago. Berkey & Gay then finished and upholstered the frames. From this reference, evidently, the upholstered lounges and parlor suites pictured in Witherell’s “Late 19th Century Furniture by Berkey & Gay” were actually manufactured elsewhere, but upholstered and marketed by B&G. Of course, this could have been done on specification, with B&G supplying the designs. If that was the case, who should be credited with creating the furniture?

Interestingly, and for a variety of reasons, different cities seemed to specialize in different types of furniture. In the 1870s, Chicago’s specialty was parlor frames, while Grand Rapids’ specialty was case furniture, particularly bedroom “suits.” So the two cities, located relatively near each other, had some furniture cross-pollination going on.

I suspect that a significant amount of furniture that is attributed to companies that had retail departments (as did Berkey & Gay of Grand Rapids; W. W. Strong of Chicago; and Kilian Bros. of New York) was made by someone else, even if a particular piece appears in a maker’s catalog.

By: drew49

drew49 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:29:26 +0000

Hi!
This research and these conclusions are very important and should serve as a caution to us all. Certainly, they throw us an unexpected curve; I had hoped with the massive and powerful research tools we now have that we could attribute many more pieces than in the past, but it is not going to be the case.

Observations:
1) The phrase “in the manner of” needs to be dusted off and used more often.
2) “For sure” attributions really come from intact labels or marks and from them only.
3) Let’s let a good piece stand on its own merit without feeling the pressure to call it “Belter,” “Herter Brothers” or something else to add to it’s status/value.

Thanks!