Dressing Table (no. 632)
Item
Title
Dressing Table (no. 632)
Creator
United Crafts
Date
1902 (ca.)
Dimensions
57 1/2 x 54 x 22 1/4 inches
Medium
Oak, copper, glass
Object No.
1995.57
Credit line
Anonymous Gift
Marks
The bottom of the drawers are chamfered and labeled in blue chalk (?) numbering 1 through 5, clockwise from the top left. An identical number is located on the bottom of the drawer slots in the case. There are a number of illegible pencil inscriptions as well. Tucker mark no. 1 on back of mirror.
Description
First illustrated in the June 1902 issue of The Craftsman extant examples of the form demonstrate a process of refinement throughout the relatively brief production of this toilet table. The example in the master bedroom is indicative of these changes and differs from the earliest prototype that Stickley depicted. First, the vertical stiles that secure the mirror to the table do not project above the top rail as they did in the earliest version. Second, the finish and hardware are different than those described: “The wood is oak, finished in “driftwood” effect: a blending of soft gray and old blue; the drawers are in hand-wrought pewter, as are the candlesticks which hold pale blue candles.” Lastly, the attachment of the mirror to the case is handled differently. The earliest example shows the mirror flush with the top of the table, while this and other examples feature a horizontal board running beneath the mirror and separated by a small gap.
Later, and certainly by 1909, Stickley produced a variation of the form (no. 907) that is quite similar to this early model. Distinguishing the two are the arrangement of the central drawer pulls, and that shape of the frame that attaches the mirror to the table. The long horizontal board beneath the mirror in no. 907 extends past the vertical stiles that hold it in place, and in this later example those pieces taper inward toward the top.
Later, and certainly by 1909, Stickley produced a variation of the form (no. 907) that is quite similar to this early model. Distinguishing the two are the arrangement of the central drawer pulls, and that shape of the frame that attaches the mirror to the table. The long horizontal board beneath the mirror in no. 907 extends past the vertical stiles that hold it in place, and in this later example those pieces taper inward toward the top.
Associated names
Gustav Stickley
Provenance
Gustav Stickley (by 1902); sold to George and Sylvia Farny with the contents of the Log House (1917); by descent to Cyril Farny; Private Collection (by 1992); Anonymous gift to the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in 1995.