Issue 72 | American Bungalow Magazine

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Issue 72 TOC

Issue 72
Winter 2011

Bungalow Kitchens: Changing with the Times 32
By Sandra Vitzthum
In the second installment in our kitchen series, we bring you an
assortment of kitchens from homes featured in articles past, all
showcasing your favorite room in the house.

Rust Belt Rising: Learning from the Motor City 46
By Douglas J. Forsyth
Home and garden tours, concert series, lively neighborhood
associations—in Detroit? The author explores the surprisingly
successful community efforts of homeowners who came for
the architecture and stayed to save the neighborhoods.

PIONEER PRINTMAKERS
Four Women Visionaries of the American Arts and Crafts Era 60
By Susan Futterman
Well ahead of their contemporaries, these artists from four regions of North America expressed their love of nature through an art form that made art affordable to the masses and that graces the walls of bungalows to this day.

BUNGALOW ARCHITECTS
Living Lightly on the Land: Louis B. Easton’s California Craftsman Showpiece 72
By Robert Winter
A 1907 Craftsman bungalow is saved from demolition—and with it an important part of the legacy of one of Pasadena’s seminal architects.

THE AMERICAN CENTURY
Henry Ford, Environmentalist? 86
By Robert Winter
Henry Ford’s dream of “village industries” and his gift of a Model T
to his friend John Burroughs sprang from an instinct with deep roots in the American imagination.

IN THE BUNGALOW GARDEN
Beyond O Tannenbaum: The Sacred Life of Trees 94
By Kathleen Donohue and John Burke
Making a case for including more evergreens in the Bungalow Garden, the writers explore the spiritual connection between humans and one of the world’s most versatile life forms.

SHOW US WHAT YOU’VE DONE
Meet Me in St. Louis 100
By Mike Knoll
Two Californians return home to St. Louis, Missouri, to rescue the magnificent personal home of one of the city’s most renowned architects.

Departments and Craftsman Resources
A Letter from the Publisher 1

Open House: Letters to the Editor 8
A reader shares his handcrafted tribute to photographer Edward S. Curtis, praise for the forgotten Arts and Crafts homes of Toledo, Ohio, and the letter writer who started it all shares how he keeps his Camperdown Elms thriving.

Family Album 14
From coast to coast, readers share their pride in their bungalows.

Perspective on Antiques with David Rudd 20
Miniature salesman samples from Canada, the collectability of Stickley’s Colonial Revival furniture and advice for the care of a Heintz Metalworks lamp.

New & Noteworthy 26
A selection of Arts and Crafts-inspired amenities for today’s bungalow lifestyle.

ARTS AND CRAFTS PROFILE
Beautifully Measured Moments, Present Time Clocks 106
From Pasadena, California, to Acme, Washington, Jim Dailey has made more than 4,000 handcrafted clocks in twenty years, and has heard more jokes about time than he can count.

From Our Friends
To Grandmother’s House We Go 109
By Nancy Jean Lauren

Directory of Advertisers 110

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Meet Me In St. Louis
by Mike Knoll
St. Louis, MO

Additional Construction Photos:

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Q: Could you give us any information on this lamp frommy father-in-law’s estate? There appears to be a name scratched on the shade, but we can’t make it out. Also, how would one care for this piece?
Rosann Balcom
Williamsville, N.Y.

While I recognized your lamp immediately as a product of the Heintz Art Metal Shop and have handled a

number of these lamps over the years, I thought I would contact a long-time friend and expert in Heintz art metal, David Surgan (heintzcollector.com). Here is David’s reply:

“Your lamp is a product of the Heintz Art Metal Shop, Buffalo, N.Y., 1906–30. It is the largest of a class of Heintz lamps with solid, rather than cutout, shades popularly referred to as ‘helmet lamps.’ This form is commonly called a ‘bell helmet.’ The shade and the base are bronze; the decorative floral overlay is sterling silver.

“The finish, or patina, on the bronze was referred to in period literature as ‘Royal’ and described as ‘a deep rich red with a suggestion of iridescence.’ ‘Patina,’ which is used to characterize age and handling on wood, refers to finishes produced with chemicals and heat on metal.

“The scratched signature you refer to is not a signature at all, merely a scratch. Heintz lamps were commonly marked with a paper label on the felted underside. Most such labels are long gone today.

“As for care, I quote from a little booklet that was included with every new piece: ‘Each piece of Heintz ware is lacquered with the highest grade lacquer obtainable and will not tarnish. To keep this ware clean, merely wipe with a dry, soft cloth.’

“A word of caution: If the electrical wiring is suspect, rewiring will not compromise the value of your lamp.”

Q: My husband and I recently purchased ten pieces of miniaturized furniture described as “salesman samples.” Apparently, they come from a family in the province of Ontario here in Canada; someone in the family worked at the furniture factory. All the visible wood is quartersawn oak, and the pieces are all in excellent condition. As you can see, they are quite large for doll furniture. We are hoping you could shed some light on the subject of salesman samples. They are not easy to transport. Did salesmen take these to prospective buyers’ homes? Did buyers go to the factory and look at the samples? I have included the measurements of each piece.
Jeanine Anstee
Vancouver, B.C.

It was not uncommon for a turn-of-the-20th-century salesman to load up a large chest of scale model furniture and hit the road. Nearly all categories of household furnishings, from furniture to farm implements and kitchen tools to architectural ornaments, were made in a miniature form that would be easier to carry to retailers around the country. These reduced-scale pieces were also used on the road and in stores to demonstrate the functions and qualities of these products.

We asked Henry Jones, a Canadian personal property appraiser at Roadshow’s 400 Antiques Mall in Toronto (roadshowantiquesmall.com), the largest antiques mall in Canada, to weigh in:

“These are wonderful pieces … the style, the quality of the finish. If these aren’t Stickley, they’re certainly copies of that style. There are hundreds of furniture companies in Canada that made Arts and Crafts–style furniture, but I don’t know of many that would go to the trouble of making such fine samples. Possibly Owens Sound Furniture or Gibbard Furniture, both of Ontario, or Krug Brothers of Southwestern Ontario. But Grand Rapids, Michigan, the home to J.G. and Albert Stickley’s company, isn’t far over the border. I would rule out Stickley first, then look to Canadian manufacturers. Take the pieces to a certified appraiser—examining the pieces firsthand will give them an advantage, and hopefully give you more information. ”

Q: Would you be able to identify this sideboard inherited from my grandmother? The label was underneath a drawer. It is most likely mahogany and in good condition, other than a poorly glued chip on one door. The finish appears to be original. I am curious about its origin and current value.
Sincerely,
Sarah Gibbs
Los Altos, Calif.

I was able to locate an image of this sideboard in The Gustav Stickley Photo Archives, courtesy of the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. (The archive has also been published by Schiffer Publishing in a convenient book.)

The sideboard is dated 1915. It was produced in response to the downturn of popularity of the earlier Craftsman furniture as public tastes began to favor Colonial Revival styles. It was available in oak or mahogany, with or without glass, and with the customer’s choice of hardware.

While these pieces are getting more attention lately, their value is still just a fraction of Gustav Stickley’s earlier Craftsman furniture. But tastes change with the times. Though Mission-style furniture is highly sought after today, the Stickley company made not one piece of it from 1923 to 1989. If you ever get a chance to visit the Stickley Museum in Fayetteville, N.Y. (stickleymuseum.org), you’ll find virtually the only existing museum display of Stickley’s Colonial Revival furniture.

David Rudd is president of the Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York and owner of Dalton’s American Decorative Arts in Syracuse; visit his shop at daltons.com. The opinions expressed in this column are his.

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Burlingame, Calif., Cathy and Joe Baylock
We bought our 1910 Arts and Crafts bungalow in October 1991 and have spent two decades lovingly restoring our home. As with many of us, we found the home had “good bones” and a healthy list of long-term projects needed to bring it back to life. Our house was built as a single-family home and converted to front and back apartments during the 1920s. It was a three-family home during WWII when what was originally the dining room was converted to a studio apartment to house an army officer and his wife. Luckily, no real permanent changes had been made; we were able to restore the house while retaining its significant American history. It has been a true labor of love!

Sellwood, Ore., Cody Wilson
We purchased our 1942 cottage bungalow in May of 2010 and have loved it ever since. It’s within walking distance of the antiques shops and great restaurants of Sellwood, a Portland neighborhood with a lot of character and charm. Our master bedroom has French doors that lead to a new deck and firepit. The only downside is (especially for a car guy), we don’t have a garage. But we love living in this beautiful neighborhood.

Washington, D.C., Carin Ruff
When I bought my home in April of 2011, I was sure it was a 1923 Ardmore bungalow by Standard Homes. I’d found its near-twin in a kit-house catalog at the same time I saw the home listed. But thanks to an architect blogger I’d written who to had the same house, I learned it’s actually a 1922 San Fernando by Lewis Manufacturing. There are subtle variations in the floor plan, and the telltale detail is the openwork trim over the porch. Since moving in, I’ve found seven of its siblings around D.C.; I’d love to find more.

Somers Point, N.J., Michael Rattigan
I recently renovated this house, which I bought in July 2009. Built sometime in the early 1920s, it really is an American bungalow in a seashore town. It sits high on a corner lot. It had great bones and with the exception of a small rear addition, detached garage, enclosed porch and asbestos siding, the house was original and unaltered. The house now features a Craftsman front porch, period lighting and mission furnishings in the dining room. The kitchen has the original double farm sink and is surrounded by period cupboards.

River Forest, Ill., John and Fran Dzuryak
Our 1922–built bungalow was in great need of a new back entrance/porch. Over the past 28 years that we have lived in it we have continued to make improvements that reflect its true architectural style. Our new screen porch, deck and kitchen renovation has a deep set porch, a wide eave overhang, stained cedar clapboard siding, cedar wrapped exposed roof beam and rafters, cedar shingle interior porch walls with oak banding, cedar air vent on the rear gable, douglas fir and cedar window trim, recessed built-in pine bookcases and deep-set banded windows, all within a 14’ vaulted pine car sided ceiling.

Riverside-Avondale, Fla., Janet Germany
We bought this building in the summer of 2005 and finished the restoration in 2008, winning three awards for the work. Many of the multi-unit buildings in our historic district, Riverside Avondale, have women’s names and I felt this formerly grand old lady deserved to be named for a woman too. Our street was named for Sir John Herschel, son of the personal astronomer to King George III; his unmarried aunt Caroline Lucretia Herschel became the first woman to discover a comet. Little Lina, as the family called her, helped her brother catalog 2,500 twin stars in the Northern Hemisphere. I knew that “Stella” for stars and “Lina” for Caroline was the name the building wanted.

Minneapolis, Minn., Randy J. Rowoldt and Steve Pearthree
In 1997–98 we started to look for a house to buy. In a neighborhood called Tangletown, there was a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard of a bungalow—what people in this part of the country call a ‘grandma’ house. We bought the house in 2000. The magnificent side screened porch had been covered over in plywood; now uncovered, it’s our favorite room in the house. We discovered a trove of 1930s to 1960s postcards behind a drawer in the den. We also discovered several ’50s pinup calendars, now collector’s items, and a pistol in the
basement ceiling!

Tulsa, Okla., Mark Capron
When we discovered a vacant lot for sale in an old neighborhood in Midtown Tulsa, we found our opportunity to build our dream home in the Arts and Crafts style. I was able to design the home myself and produce the construction plans with the help of a local home designer. This house features a classic Craftsman porch, a trellis style porte-cochere and an offset garage to mimic a detached garage. We stayed with the Craftsman influence in the interior as well. The journey of building this truly custom house in a spec world was arduous. We could write a book on the subject!

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Issue 72
Winter 2011

Bungalow Features

Bungalow Kitchens
Bungalow Kitchens: Changing with the Times 32
By Sandra Vitzthum
In the second installment in our kitchen series, we bring you an assortment of kitchens from homes featured in articles past, all showcasing your favorite room in the house.

Rust Belt Revival
Rust Belt Rising: Learning from the Motor City 46
By Douglas J. Forsyth
Home and garden tours, concert series, lively neighborhood associations—in Detroit? The author explores the surprisingly successful community efforts of homeowners who came for the architecture and stayed to save the neighborhoods.

THE AMERICAN CENTURY
Henry Ford, Environmentalist? 86
By Robert Winter
Henry Ford’s dream of “village industries” and his gift of a Model T to his friend John Burroughs sprang from an instinct with deep roots in the American imagination.

SHOW US WHAT YOU’VE DONE
Meet Me in St. Louis 100
By Mike Knoll
Two Californians return home to St. Louis, Missouri, to rescue the magnificent personal home of one of the cityÕs most renowned architects.

Departments and Craftsman Resources

A Letter from the Publisher 1

Family Album 14
From coast to coast, readers share their pride in their bungalows.
Perspective on Antiques with David Rudd 20
Miniature salesman samples from Canada, the collectability of StickleyÕs Colonial Revival furniture and advice for the care of a Heintz Metalworks lamp.

New & Noteworthy 26
A selection of Arts and CraftsÐinspired amenities for todayÕs bungalow lifestyle.

ARTS AND CRAFTS PROFILE
Beautifully Measured Moments, Present Time Clocks 106
From Pasadena, California, to Acme, Washington, Jim Dailey has made more than 4,000 handcrafted clocks in twenty years, and has heard more jokes about time than he can count.

From Our Friends
To Grandmother’s House We Go 109
By Nancy Jean Lauren

Directory of Advertisers 110

Comments Off

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.

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Issue 72 TOC

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.

Upcoming Events

Newsletter

Popular Articles

Twitter Updates

Issue 72 TOC