1. Refinishing or not refinishing furniture.
The best material I have read and followed for restoring antiques
(especially mission furniture) comes from Bruce Johnson. He has
several books, including "The Weekend Refinisher" that
address in explicit detail, tips and techniques for most refinishing/restoration
projects. The main thing you can learn from this is if it is not
painted- pause to evaluate the finish. You may get lucky with
a mineral spirits cleaning and stain touch up. Waxes and fine
tinted waxes do wonders. This may save you from hours of inhaling
horrible stripping fumes. Check out other web sites for refinishing
tips.
There have been volumes of books and articles written on period Arts & Crafts furniture marks. And even these have supplied erroneous information. For common items such as rockers, chairs, library tables, and bookcases, a great start is to look through the very cheap Dover reprint of Stickley Furniture catalogs. Furniture with measurements and model numbers are grouped in the catalog. Beyond that the quality and construction are critical factors for evaluating authenticity. You have to see stuff in person too! Even if it is in a museum, you need to look at design, proportions, and construction details to get familiar with the Arts & Crafts vernacular. The book by David Cathers "Furniture of the American Arts & Crafts Movement" is a classic for noting all the subtleties (Yes, there are subtleties in Mission) and overt design elements that make a piece of furniture appropriate to the period.
Even though there is some Stickley (notable L&JG Stickley)
with turned legs it does not make it American Arts & Crafts
furniture. As tastes changed the manufacturers pushed new and
revival furniture lines. Colonial revival became very popular
in the declining days of the Arts & Crafts Movement. With
few exceptions, turned legs, ball or claw foot and or overly carved
furniture ain't mission.
Look closely at the book's descriptions for marks ("signed"
furniture- really just marked, it is not as if Stickley was putting
his signature on an oil painting; someday maybe people will collect
"signed" JC Penney furniture : ). Unfortunately there
are forged marks today, a well researched piece of furniture with
original patina may be the best way to determine factory origin.
As I mention later there were HUNDREDS of makers of period Arts
& Crafts furnishings, lighting etc. The stuff varied from
throw away screwed together porch furniture to beautiful works
of utilitarian art. If it is well made and you like it, if it
makes your head turn and think of warm fireplace inglenooks, if
it makes you happy, then keep it and use it!
3 . The terms: Mission, Arts & Crafts, Craftsman.
People are using these terms interchangeably and incorrectly.
Here's the scoop:
Gustav Stickley marketed his furniture etc. as Craftsman, period.
He absolutely HATED the term "Mission" but it caught
on and even today remains popular. Craftsman is like Kleenex,
a brand name with unmistakable attribution.
England was really responsible for the Arts & Crafts movement
starting with Pugin, Ruskin, Morris et al. America had its own
version of interest in the return to hand craft and rejection
of modern industrialization, aka the American Arts & Crafts
Movement. It took Stickley to democratize the movement by combining
machinery and hand craft. Morris's fine crafts proved too costly
and ironically his socialist leanings were supported by the very
wealthy.
Mission was a sort of catchy anachronistic referral to furniture
simple enough to be made by monks in a (Spanish) mission. Notably
this was coined by one of Gustav Stickley's rivals Joseph P. McHugh.
Therefore, not everything from the period is Craftsman, really
nothing is Mission, and yet everything can be classified as Arts
& Crafts. Except of course that horrible pot holder, or macrame
wall hanging that you got from your aunt's house in the 70's.
4. Find me some original Bungalow Magazines, thanks.
5. Who's making the finest mission furniture today?
It is amazing the way today's continued interest in Arts
& Crafts Interiors parallels the turn of the century. As Stickley's
well made furniture became popular manufacturers copied and incorporated
Craftsman designs into their furniture lines. As capitalism prevailed,
competition and decreased quality drove prices lower and made
it harder for Stickley to compete. There were well over 100 makers
of Mission furniture at the height of its popularity (in America).
Just for the heck of let's list some of these. Anyone that can
name a missing company let me know. Now maybe when someone sends
me email about the piece of Gustav Stickley furniture they just
found, they may realize that Stickley wasn't the only game in
town.
Craftsman Furniture
L&JG Stickley Co./Handcraft/Onandoga
Tobey
Limberts
Stickley Brothers/Quaint
Chas. Stickley/Brandt
Roycroft
Shop of the Crafters
Charles Rohlfs (limited)
Rose Valley (very limited handcraft)
Jos. P. McHugh & Co.
J.M.Young
Karpen
Lifetime
Harden
Majestic
Byrdcliffe
Lucia & Arthur Mathews
Peter Hall (limited Greene & Greene)
FH Bresler Co.
Many other fine Cabinet shops
John Ayers Co.
Paine
Come-Packt
Brooks
Kunkle Bros.
Not to mention just about every single
shop class in America and amateur craftsmen following Popular
mechanics plans, Stickley plans, drafting books etc. Today we
again see the range from fine custom hand crafted furniture and
Stickley Furniture Co. to JC Penney and laminated particle board.
