Rare Victorian Est. 2008 · The Curator's Archive
Research No. 623

M. H. Schrenkeisen Factory

Originally published

John JelliffFurnitureM.H. SchrenkeisenFactory

M. H. Schrenkeisen
M. H. Schrenkeisen

I thought that I'd share this M. H. Schrenkeisen factory drawing from an October 1880 Scientific American cover. It depicts the full cabinetmaking process beginning with raw logs coming into the factory and in the lower right you can see finished Eastlake-style furniture. I guess Home Depot and Lowes had not yet opened in their neighborhood and they had to cut their own logs.

Schrenkeisen produced some of the furniture in the Renaissance Revival era that often gets confused with John Jelliff furniture and this image depicts their factory almost a decade later when style had changed.

Click the image for a larger version that can be clicked again for maximum size (in some browsers).

M. H. Schrenkeisen

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3 comments

  1. Chris @ English Classics
    It's funny that furniture used to make the cover of SA: I think it really drives home how people still conceived of the industrial manufacturing process as a cutting-edge development, in spite of the continuity between the furniture on that cover and the tradition of artisanal craftsmanship that informed it. I wonder if the popular imagination back then would have thought if that way? Thanks for sharing!
  2. Cherryl Press
    IMG_0805.jpeg Can you tell me anything about this chair?
    1. John Werry
      Send photos to [email protected]

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Decent Furniture for Decent People

I'm sharing a PhD Thesis on 19th Century Canadian furniture with a special focus on manufacturer Jacques & Hay by Denise Jacques (I assume there is no coincidence there on the last name). She is now working on a book