I recently “met” Roberta Mayer virtually through this site when she saw my posts on Jelliff and the “Jenny Lind” carved arms.  She made me aware of an article she had written on the same topic several years ago for The Victorian Times for VSA.  Roberta is an accomplished and widely published author and presenter on the topic of decorative arts who happens to live very close to me.  I will need to meet up with her one of these days.

My thinking on these arms is very much in-line with hers (and I plan another post on more comparisons) and she has graciously approved my sharing her article with you below.  It is titled, “Neo-Grec Parlor Suites:” with the wonderful sub-title of “Not Always A “Jelliff”"

No sooner do I put up a post about J.W. Hamburger than woodwright points out the Great American Auction sale coming up tomorrow.  I had previously reviewed the lots, but since I just did the post earlier this morning, one stuck out for me this time around.  The “Jelliff” chair on page 2 favors greatly in a comparison to a J.W. Hamburger “King William” armchair.  A few minor differences are the bottom of the seatback is rounded and the legs are reeded in the catalog.

The yellow arrows are elements that compare favorably.

(clicking on the photo will zoom it)

Compare this 1872 catalog image of a J.W. Hamburger sofa, model “King William Suit”, to a 7-piece parlor suite currently for sale as a John Jelliff.

The overall form is strikingly similar and a few decorative elements are very close to being the same but there are a few key differences:

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If you haven’t read the first part of this series on proving/disproving the Jenny Lind association with the carved arms on Renaissance Revival furniture, you can read it here.

This may take a few posts to get through, so let’s discuss why the majority of people I’ve communicated with recently agree that these arm carvings are not Jenny Lind, but we first need to know a little bit about her life.

Jenny Lind (1820-1887) was a Swedish Opera singer, often referred to as the Swedish Nightingale due to her beautiful voice.  After a performance in 1838, “Der Freischütz”, she became wildly popular throughout Sweden and the rest of Europe for the period of about a decade.  P.T. Barnum subsequently promoted her in the U.S. for 93 concerts where she earned approximately $250,000.

Barnum hyped her talent so much to the American public that “Lindomania” followed and she licensed her name for association with household items: beds, cribs, pianos, and music, among other things.  The furniture generally associated with Jenny is of spool design.

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I’ve longed referred to these female busts as “Jenny Lind” due to the prevalance of this belief in the marketlplace. People know which arms you are referring to when you describe them as Jenny Lind carvings.  It has never sat well in my stomach to be completely true and I’ve always wanted to know who this woman really was meant to depict.

I’ve come across some information that may solve this mystery for me once and for all.  One of you may debunk my theory in the end, but that is a good thing.  Let’s get this settled once and for all time.

I occasionally run contests here on Rare Victorian and I’m going to use this occasion to give away a copy of the book, “19th-Century America: Furniture and Other Decorative Arts” .  It’s release commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Continue Reading »