Stickley Fans

[lowell holmes]

http://www.stickley.com/CatalogPDFs/Mission.pdf

I don't know if this would be more appropriate in the Design forum, but the link will take you to the most complete catalog and story for Stickley furniture.

Even if you are not Stickly fans, it is a valuable resource. Be warned, if you download it, it is a large file, but my old XP computer downloaded it with ease. It took a while.

The file is a .pdf file.

[John TenEyck]

I found this same file a couple of years ago when I was designing a Stickley style cabinet for a colleague. I found it very helpful in developing a piece that was faithful to the design, construction, and finish that Stickley used in their furniture.

John

[Mike Cutler]

It's interesting that the new owners went with a Greene and Greene line in their Pasadena Bungalow line. A significant deviation from the Mission style of Gustave, but not the other Stickley Bros. They did have more A&C influenced pieces later though. Still, a very nice eye candy line. The open cloud lifts didn't do it for me, but I liked the Pasadena Bungalow influenced design adaption for the Morris chair.
I'm not sure they have the quadrlineal post detail exactly correct, though they did state it was Leopold's design. Gustave's posts were four separate pieces, kind of a mitered rabbet. I've seen it evidenced in earlier work by Gustave Stickley, but the later work was a different joint.
Even tough I'm not a huge fan of the early Mission styling, I can certainly admire their work and craftsmanship. It was exceptional, and to replicate Gustave's work would be quite a feat.
I have the rare fortune of being 20 miles from Jerry Cohen's, Mission Oak Shop, and can spend hours looking at original Stickley's. Jerry's barn is a museum of Stickley all in itself. I can attest that the joinery may be simplistic in nature, but the tolerances, of the originals, that they held to, were incredible.
I once wanted to authentically reproduce the Stickley 112 bookcases by Gustave, but the work is just amazing. I think I would have been better off paying the $18,000 than trying to build a set.( I did neither in the end. )
That's a nice catalog, it adds three dimensionality to the line. Combined with Bob Lang's book, a person could get very close.
Thank you.

[Bob Lang]

One thing to be aware of with the current Stickley production is that some of the line are reproductions of early 20th century pieces and some are new designs "in the style of". Nothing wrong with that, and Stickley is probably the highest quality factory furniture being made today, but it is a bit misleading when they don't make it clear which is which, and to my eye they've been heavy-handed with throwing inlays anywhere they can and using famous names in connection with new designs. The "Greene & Greene" pieces are pretty far removed from the original work of Greene & Greene.

The current Stickley company is L. & G. Stickley, which was owned and operated by Gustav Stickley's younger brother Leopold. Gus went broke and Lee ended up with all the assets of both companies. The version of the history from the current company is written by the winner, and slanted a bit. It is funny to me that Arts & Crafts furniture is one of the most popular styles among woodworkers, but most woodworkers aren't aware of what happened when or what an original piece looks like compared to what many books, magazine articles and furniture catalogs publish as authentic.

In my opinion this style is one of our greatest treasures, and there are lots of good lessons to be learned from making it and living with it.

Bob Lang

[lowell holmes]

Bob,

I came across the site while looking for details on the Blacker House bedroom rockers. I realized the catalog is of current designs and intended as a sales tool . It took a while for me to snap to it.

I have the Pop Wood book for Arts and Crafts furniture. Often I read it for entertainment.

Those of us that don't have access to the pieces we want to make can only make a piece as inspired by the one we saw in a picture.
I made the Stickly Plant Stand featured in Woodworking magazine a few years back. It was made of cherry.

I am yearning to make the Harvey Ellis sideboard featured in the 2009 Woodworking magazine. I probably will. Would it be a sacrilege to use some soft maple for that piece?

I am making a chair for one of my sons and wanted to make it from cherry because I feel it is an appropriate choice. He however chose curly maple which I am sure will make a purest cry. It almost made me cry.

Thanks for responding.

[Bob Lang]

Actually the original Stickley catalogs offered most pieces in quartersawn white oak (with several color options) and maple and mahogany. The maple pieces I have seen have been stained dark brown, but they are rather rare and I'm not sure if I'm seeing original finishes or later re-coloring to keep up with the times. I think the designs are not dependent on using a specific wood. I'm not at all a purist in that regard. If the piece looks good and the wood looks good what does it matter. Where I get cranky is when I see something passed off as a reproduction and it isn't (or it's attributed to the wrong Stickley as was recently done in a Morris chair article in a major magazine) or corbels and spindles are randomly applied to a piece of furniture and that gets called an example of the period.

Good Arts & Crafts design is all about proportions, function and letting the wood and joinery take center stage. There are plenty of resources for examples of authentic period designs, including my books and magazine articles. Auction web sites are a great resource as well, and Stickley's magazine "The Craftsman" is available online.

Bob Lang

[Jamie Buxton]

In addition to Bob's excellent books, Dover publishes reprints of original catalogs from G. Stickley and from L&JG Stickley.

[lowell holmes]

Wow,

This thread is rich. Bob and Jamie have told us about resources I never knew about.

[Chris Hachet]

It's interesting that the new owners went with a Greene and Greene line in their Pasadena Bungalow line. A significant deviation from the Mission style of Gustave, but not the other Stickley Bros. They did have more A&C influenced pieces later though. Still, a very nice eye candy line. The open cloud lifts didn't do it for me, but I liked the Pasadena Bungalow influenced design adaption for the Morris chair.
I'm not sure they have the quadrlineal post detail exactly correct, though they did state it was Leopold's design. Gustave's posts were four separate pieces, kind of a mitered rabbet. I've seen it evidenced in earlier work by Gustave Stickley, but the later work was a different joint.
Even tough I'm not a huge fan of the early Mission styling, I can certainly admire their work and craftsmanship. It was exceptional, and to replicate Gustave's work would be quite a feat.
I have the rare fortune of being 20 miles from Jerry Cohen's, Mission Oak Shop, and can spend hours looking at original Stickley's. Jerry's barn is a museum of Stickley all in itself. I can attest that the joinery may be simplistic in nature, but the tolerances, of the originals, that they held to, were incredible.
I once wanted to authentically reproduce the Stickley 112 bookcases by Gustave, but the work is just amazing. I think I would have been better off paying the $18,000 than trying to build a set.( I did neither in the end. )
That's a nice catalog, it adds three dimensionality to the line. Combined with Bob Lang's book, a person could get very close.
Thank you.

Bab Langs book is fantastic....and I agree...with this catelog....

[Chris Hachet]

Wow,

This thread is rich. Bob and Jamie have told us about resources I never knew about.

...which is why I find the Creek so useful as a woodworker....