No this isn’t the predecessor to Ikea, but it is an interesting look into furniture designs in areas of the world other than the France, Italy, U.S., and U.K. that we’re used to.  This is an original catalog of furniture from Sweden in the late 1800s depicting furniture in a variety of styles of the period: Renaissance Revival, Eastlake, and Rococo.  Aside from chairs, cabinets, sofas, mirrors, and stands, one page even depicts ornate window drapery that they were offering.  More photos of the catalog at the Ebay listing for it.

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Lise Bohm has shared with us an original 1855 receipt that she owns documenting a Belter furniture order by what appears to be Col. B. L. Jordan. I was unable to find anything documented on this Colonel.

The order is for 2 Sofas, 2 armchairs, 4 parlour chairs, 1 centre table, 1 fine Etagere, 1 set of French ?? Dust Covers, 8 packing boxes “at $4 each”, and an itemization, “by difference on extra covering”. All of the furniture is described as “Arabasket Rosewood”, where Arabasket refers to the design. Lise has speculated that it refers to the Fountain Elms pattern. You can click on the receipt to view a larger version.

Thanks, Lise, for sharing this with us.

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I received this note from B.J. from “B and D Furniture with Generation Next Antiques” in St. Louis and thought it might be interesting to hear about a cabinetmaker from St. Louis, John H. Crane.

John,

Recently, I had the priveledge of restoring this phenomenal pier mirror c.1875.  The interesting thing is that my father purchased it not knowing it was a labeled piece.  When I started working on the piece (filthy, pictured),  I noticed that it was faintly stamped on back J.H. Crane/Furniture Manufacturing, (something unreadable, Washington Ave 4thSt./ St. Louis, MO.  I researched the heck out of this on the world wibe web to no avail.  However, thanks to our beautifully maintained, historic downtown library and the MO Historical Society, I was able to uncover some information that is extremely interesting!  Yes, that was written biasly as wonderful St. Louis is my home.

J.H. Crane (John) was born February 25, 1832 in Newark, NJ.  He came from cabinet maker lineage as his uncles successfully ran a furniture manufacturing business in Mobile, Al where John learned the trade.  Also, his father, Lemuel, is credited with starting the first steam manufacturing of furniture in the U.S.  John started business in 1855 and persevered through 2 major accidents that forced him to relocate in a time spanning across two decades.

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Tags: furniture, JH Crane, mirror, Missouri, pier, St. Louis