The Chair

A friend has a similar chair. It is original, it is old, but it is a good resource.

FROM THE ARTIST’S STUDIO
Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon counts on her social media followers to help her find information and resources. She has located everything from old teapots to models, and a trampoline needed for photos for reference. Once again, her social media friends come through. She posts the image of Booker T. and asks everyone what type of chair it is. A friend responds. “It appears to be an early 1900s Arts & Crafts style chair. (corbels under the arms, mortise and tendon construction). There were a number of arts & crafts (sometimes also referred to as mission) furniture and chair-makers in the early 1900s: Gustave Stickley, L&JG Stickley, Stickley Brothers, Roycroft, Limbert, Hardin, and others. From the seat bottom on this chair, my guess is early early 1900s. (No springs in the seat bottom). Many of the chairs from that period were made out of white oak and fumed. If the chair has flecking in it, then it was made with quarter-sawn oak. Some chair makers marked or “signed” their pieces either with a stamp, paper label, metal label, etc. Some Chairs can also be identified to the maker by finding the chair in an old Catalog, and some of those catalogs have been reprinted for purchase today.”

She has hit the jackpot in the information. Her friend guess in furniture also fits the time period— Booker T. Washington lived (1856-1915).
The artists searched further and discovered in Booker T Washington’s writing that the students had to make their own furniture. One can’t help but wonder how their skills improved over time.

• Teachers and students
  What did the term “mission style” come from? What period is it, and what type of furniture did it replace?
• What is the “Art’s and Craft’s” period?

Author Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon

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