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REINTERPRETING EASTLAKE: LATE 19TH CENTURY FURNITURE STYLES by Katherine Householder A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts History of Decorative Arts Committee: ___________________________________________ Director ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Program Director ___________________________________________ Department Chairperson ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: _____________________________________ Spring Semester 2013 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Reinterpreting Eastlake: Late 19th Century Furniture Styles A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in the History of Decorative Arts at George Mason University By Katherine Householder Bachelor of Science University of Southern California, 1979 Director: Oscar Fitzgerald, Adjunct Professor Department of Art History Spring Semester 2013 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright: 2013 Katherine Householder All Rights Reserved ii Dedication Thank you to my husband Joe for his support and encouragement while I undertook this endeavor and for all the times he has been my number one fan. Thank you also to my children. Laura, Konrad and Hilary, who always took the time to ask how my paper was going and a special thanks to Laura for helping me with the formatting. iii Acknowledgements Many individuals have assisted me with my research into Eastlake furniture. I would like to especially thank my professor and advisor, Oscar Fitzgerald, who spent numerous hours discussing the topic with me and suggesting avenues for further thought and research. His encouragement throughout the research and analytical phases as well as the actual codification of my thoughts has been invaluable to my growth as a scholar and writer. I am very appreciative of the wisdom and counsel he has so generously given. Thank you to Cindy Williams who has supported my endeavor from the start and has taken the time to advise me through the decorative arts curriculum. I would also like to thank the following individuals and institutions who gave me access to their collections and took the time to discuss their views related to my subject. Strong National Museum of Play, Christopher Bensch Carnegie Museum of Art, Dawn Reid Cloud’s Hill Victorian House Museum, Anne Holst Frick Art & Historical Center, Amanda Gillen Gaar House, Sarah Bradley Glessner House Museum, Bill Tyre Grand Rapids Public Museum, Alex Forist and Christian Carron Hower House, The University of Akron, Linda Bussey, Montauk Historic Site, Wade Schott Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Mary Lou Rendon Smithsonian National Museum of American History Archives Center Winterthur Library and Archives, Emilie Guthries and Jeanne Solensky iv Table of Contents Page List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 – Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 – British Influence on American Furniture Manufacture ................................. 12 Chapter 3 – Art Furniture in England and America .......................................................... 35 Chapter 4 – Eclecticism and Late Nineteenth Century Styles in America ....................... 54 Chapter 5 – American Modern Gothic, The Eastlake Style in America ........................... 78 Chapter 6 – American Queen Anne Revival Style Furniture ......................................... 107 Chapter 7 – Conclusion ................................................................................................... 139 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 142 v List of Figures Figure Page Figure 1: “The Pet Sideboard,” c. 1871. Bruce J. Talbert. Oak Sideboard, Plate 31 in Ancient and Modern Furniture, Metal Work, Tapestries, Decorations, Etc., 1876. 20 Figure 2: Interior View of Dining-Room. Bruce Talbert. 1867. Plate 11 in Gothic Forms Applied to Furniture Decoration, &c. ....................................................................... 21 Figure 3: Design for Cabinet of Oak, with solid Inlays, and Brass Hinges. Bruce Talbert. Plate 7 in Gothic Forms Applied to Furniture Decoration, &c. 1867....................... 22 Figure 4: (L) Eastlake Organ by Mason & Hamlin. The Great Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition by Phillip T. Sandhurst., 1876; (R) Design for Cabinet of Ebonized Hardwood. Bruce Talbert. Plate 4 in Gothic Forms applied to Furniture Decoration, &c. 1867. ................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 5: Design for Hall Furniture. Bruce Talbert. Plate 42 in Examples of Ancient and Modern Furniture, Metal Work, Tapestries, Decorations, Etc. 1876. ...................... 28 Figure 6: The Juno Cabinet. Bruce Talbert. Victoria & Albert Museum. c. 1878. .......... 29 Figure 7: A Dining Room Sideboard. Plate 8 in Decoration & Furniture of Town Houses by Robert W. Edis. New York: Scribner and Welford, 1881. ................................... 33 Figure 8: English Gothic Style Wardrobe and Bedstead. Cox & Sons. Illustrated Catalogue of Gothic and other Artistic Domestic furniture, fittings, Decorations, Upholstery, and Metal Work. 1872. .......................................................................... 40 Figure 9: Cabinet. Messrs. Cooper and Holt of London. 1876. Gems of the Centennial 1877. .......................................................................................................................... 41 Figure 10: Queen Anne Furniture. Cox & Sons. Extra Designs for Artistic furniture. 1876. National Art Library. Victoria & Albert Museum. .......................................... 46 Figure 11: Jacobean Furniture. Plate 17 in Art Furniture by William Watt. London: B.T. Batsford, 1877. National Art Library. Victoria & Albert Museum. .......................... 48 Figure 12: Anglo-Japanese Drawing Room Furniture. Plate 8 in Art Furniture by William Watt. London: B.T. Batsford, 1877. National Art Library. Victoria & Albert Museum. .................................................................................................................... 49 Figure 13: Original Design for a Cabinet. Queen Anne style. The Furniture Gazette 15 (February 13, 1881): 105. http://google.com/books .................................................. 50 Figure 14: Original Designs For Panels by George C. Haite. The Furniture Gazette 15 (March 5, 1881): 156. http://google.com/books. ....................................................... 51 Figure 15: Louis XIV style. Commode attributed to Andre-Charles Boulle. Marquetry with gilt bronze mounts. French, c. 1710. The J. Paul Getty Museum ..................... 57 Figure 16: Louis XV Style. Side Table. Gessoed and gilded oak. Maker unknown. French. c. 1730. The J. Paul Getty Museum .............................................................. 58 vi Figure 17: Rococo Revival Style. Étagère by Alexander Roux. ca. 1855. American. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ............................................................................ 59 Figure 18: Louis XVI style. Secrétaire attributed to Martin Carlin. Oak veneered with various woods and Sevres porcelain plaques. French. ca. 1781-85. The Metropolitan Museum of Art........................................................................................................... 60 Figure 19: Cabinet in the style of Louis Seize by Leon Marcotte. American. ca. 1860. Metropolitan Museum of Art. .................................................................................... 61 Figure 20: Turkish Lounge illustrated in Jordan & Moriarty's Illustrated Furniture and Carpet Catalogue. New York. 1879. UTSA Libraries Digital Collections. http://digital.utsa.edu/cdm/ ........................................................................................ 64 Figure 21: Renaissance Revival Cabinets displayed at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. (L) Pottier and Stymus. Gems of the Centennial by George Titus Ferris. (R) George A. Schastey, “The Centennial Exhibition. II.” The Art Journal 2 (1876). Page 194. ................................................ 66 Figure 22: Italian Renaissance Revival Table. Art Decoration Applied to Furniture by Harriet Spofford, 1878. .............................................................................................. 67 Figure 23: French Renaissance Revival "Henri II" Cabinet. Art Decoration Applied to Furniture by Harriet Spofford, 1878. ........................................................................ 68 Figure 24: Designs for Drawing Room Furniture in Anglo-Japanese Style. Builder and Woodworker. 1882..................................................................................................... 72 Figure 25: Anglo-Japanese Bedroom Furniture by Bradstreet, Thurber & Co................. 73 Figure 26: Salon Furnished and Decorated in Turkish Style. "Suggestions for an Oriental Room" The Art Amateur 14 (1886). ............................ 74 Figure 27: