Coffee and Tea Service (model 5005)
Item
Title
Coffee and Tea Service (model 5005)
Creator
Black, Starr & Frost
Date
1896
Medium
Sterling silver, rosewood (?)
Object No.
2023.39.1a-e
Credit line
Gift of David and Susan Cathers
Marks
Engraved "Stickley / 1896" on front of vessels and on the top of the tray.
Bases variously marked including: impressed company hallmarks (lion, anchor, and monogram (?)); impressed crescent moon; impressed "5005"; impressed "BLACK, STARR & FROST"; impressed "STERLING"
Bases variously marked including: impressed company hallmarks (lion, anchor, and monogram (?)); impressed crescent moon; impressed "5005"; impressed "BLACK, STARR & FROST"; impressed "STERLING"
Description
In 1896, in a clear sign that his partnership with Elgin Simonds was proving to be profitable, Stickley purchased a Coffee and Tea Service made by Black, Starr & Frost of New York. The design is traditional, hearkening back to the early 19th century wares and demonstrates the rather conservative aesthetic impulses and Victorian notions of taste that tempered his progressive ideas. Engraved with the family's name and the year, this service was featured prominently on the sideboard in illustrations of the Log House published in the November 1911 issue of The Craftsman.