Chest of Drawers (no. 621)
Item
Title
Chest of Drawers (no. 621)
Creator
United Crafts
Date
1902-04 (ca.)
Dimensions
39 3/4 x 36 x 20 1/2 inches
Medium
Oak with brass or iron hardware
Object No.
L2022.21.8
Credit line
Claudia Walter, Loretta Foss, Michael Fiore, and Marisa Fiore-Kelley.
Marks
Shop mark (decal) on back of top rail; The model number “621” is inscribed in pencil on the interior of top full sized drawer, lefthand side.
The marking system of the drawers in this chest is curious. Beginning at “7” and continuing through “12” (top to bottom, right to left) the impressed numbers skip “9” altogether. Drawer number 11 features the pencil inscription “Short” in large cursive, despite being the correct size. Traces of green on the interior of this drawer may indicate the piece’s original color.
The marking system of the drawers in this chest is curious. Beginning at “7” and continuing through “12” (top to bottom, right to left) the impressed numbers skip “9” altogether. Drawer number 11 features the pencil inscription “Short” in large cursive, despite being the correct size. Traces of green on the interior of this drawer may indicate the piece’s original color.
Description
The progression of Stickley’s increasing reliance on cost-saving production methods is born out across the range of furniture he brought with him to the Log House and the slight variations between them. Solidly built and handsome, the dresser stands at a midpoint between the handwork that characterized elements of his early work and the later works’ efficiencies. Although the dovetails for the drawers are machine cut, the undersides of the drawers feature chamfered boards of butt-joined oak, a practice that would be phased out in later works. The dresser is simple, sturdy, and functional; a perfect summary of Stickley’s best designs.
Sometime in 1904, this model was rechristened no. 901, the inscribed model number and machine cut dovetails in this example help narrow the date to after Stickley's purchase of a dovetail machine (sometime in 1902) to 1904, when the renumbering of models and the rationalization of this system emerged.
Sometime in 1904, this model was rechristened no. 901, the inscribed model number and machine cut dovetails in this example help narrow the date to after Stickley's purchase of a dovetail machine (sometime in 1902) to 1904, when the renumbering of models and the rationalization of this system emerged.
Provenance
Gustav Stickley, first in Syracuse, then to Craftsman Farms; possibly sold with the contents of Craftsman Farms to George and Sylvia Farny (1917); by descent to Cyril Farny; passed at auction (Christie's 1989) and purchased after the sale; on loan to The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms (ca. 1990)