American Bungalow Magazine - The Magazine published in the interest of preserving and restoring the modest American 20th Century Home, the Bungalow, and the rich lifestyle that it affords.

Q: I have been in the antique business for about 35 years and do not recall seeing this table. We have been researching it through our books and on the internet and have run out of places to look.

Steve Curtis
Gordonville, Texas

It’s hard to say, Steve, I don’t recognize the design, but if I were to take a guess I would say Brooks Furniture Co., Saginaw, Mich. The molding around the bottom of the center leg, the shaped cutout on the outside legs and the low keyed tenon are things you would see them using.

By the turn of the last century, hundreds of companies had jumped into the manufacturing of mission furniture all over the country. Michigan was a hotbed, the area around Grand Rapids was the home of several large companies, and there were more around the state. In upstate New York, the Syracuse area alone had close to 15 companies within 75 miles of Gustav Stickley’s shop. Even companies that were known to produce other styles produced lines in response to the demand for Arts and Crafts. Many of these companies sold through catalogs and magazines, and pieces were shipped far and wide (I would like to The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms become a depositary for these obscure cataogs and ephemera.)

Q: I’m having the inside of my fireplace rebuilt so we can actually use it, but I don’t want to touch the tile surround. My mom (who’s an avid collector of everything old) thinks my fireplace may be made of quite unique tiles. Is she right?

Twila K.
Online

When I first looked at your photos I immediately thought of Henry Chapman Mercer and his Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, in Doylestown, Pa., as well as other places around the Northeast. Then, realizing you are from the West Coast, I thought maybe Ernest Batchelder of Pasadena fame. Soon, realizing I couldn’t pinpoint it, I e-mailed my dear friend Cleota Reed, who wrote the book on Mercer (literally: Henry Chapman Mercer and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, U. Pennsylvania, 1996.)

Cle responded “The tiles are not Mercer, and most probably [not] Batchelder, but without seeing the installation I can’t be 100 percent sure because there were other California tile makers who emulate his style” She forwarded my question to another friend, Vance Koehler, curator at the Moravian Pottery. Vance responded “The tiles are neither Mercer or Batchelder: They were manufactured by Handcraft Tile Co, Milpitas, CA, probably 1930s or 1940s (or later).” Cleota added “Handcraft Tile was established in 1926 in San Jose and moved to Milpitas, CA in 1931.” So many thanks to Cleota and Vance.

Your sconces are more in the Art Deco Style and probably produced about the same time as your Handcraft Tiles. If you ever have a reason to remove a sconce you may find evidence on the back of a company like Degue, Noverdy, Mueller or Schneider.These are all French companies that exported to the U.S.dur¬ing this period.They all produced uplighting sconces in this style using glass of varying qualities. These sconces don’t have a connection to American Arts and Crafts, but it is not unusual to see this type of lighting in late 1920s and ’30s bungalows and other homes from this period.

Allison S.
Online

Very interesting chair,Allison.It is not a piece produced by any of the Stickley companies, but, instead, a piece that was produced by the Joseph P. McHugh Com-pany in New York City. McHugh bragged about being one of the first to bring “mis¬sion oak” to popularity at the turn of the 20th century. His designs were a bit out of the norm as Arts and Crafts furniture goes. The design of your chair would fit his vocabulary and is a pretty good match to the chair illustrated in one of his ads.

In 1993, Anna Tobin D’Ambrosio, the curator of decorative arts at the Munson Williams Proctor Institute in Utica, New York, mounted an exhibition accompanied by a catalog entitled, “The Distinction of Being Different, Joseph P. McHugh and the American Arts and Crafts Movement.” This is the only research done on McHugh and it clearly explained McHugh, his motivation and his products.
From my experience, there are only a few pieces of McHugh that excite collectors — your chair being among them. Congratulations.

Linda McGuire
Online

I always enjoy a successful restoration story. While I haven’t personally restored anything in many years, I have overseen many restoration projects for clients all over the country. I know how much work is involved, and I applaud your efforts.

The hardware on your china cabinet appears to be the same hardware that was used by the Grand Rapids Bookcase and Chair Company (aka Lifetime Furniture).The form of the cabinet looks like a single-door version of the double-door #6478 found in their catalog. I would say that if you see evidence of corbels on the inside of the legs, this is it. I do like reading that it still has its original glass; that is a huge plus on such a simple piece.

The company summed up their furniture quite nicely in their catalog: “Useless ornamentation and display have been eliminated and in its place has been incorporated only that which is useful and beautiful in its plain sturdiness.” This follows nicely the William Morris saying. “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”