American Art Deco Furniture Book by Mario

American Art Deco Furniture

Copyright 2014 Ric Emmett Edited by Andrew Nasrinpay Proofread by: Chris Kennedy Dennis Wilhelm and Michael Kinerk All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior consent of the publisher Published by Art Deco Pros Books www.americanartdecofurniturebook.com

Emmett, Ric American Art Deco Furniture/Ric Emmett; 1st Edition - Printed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 569 pages; 28 x 23 cm ISBN 978-987-33-6377-1 1. Furniture 2. American Designers 3. American Manufactures 4. American Art Deco

Table of Contents Introduction: 1. Dedication 2. Forward and A look Back 3. Art Deco Furniture in the United States

4 5 7

The Designers: 1. Paul Frankl 2. Donald Deskey 3. Gilbert Rohde 4. KEM Weber 5. Wolfgang Hoffmann 6. Warren McArthur 7. Alfons Bach 8. Paul Lazlo 9. Frank Fletcher 10.Walter Dorwin Teague 11. Henry Dryfuss 12. John Vassos 13. William J. Campbell 14. Ralph Widdicomb 15.Charles Hardy 16.Eliel Saarinen et al. 17. Alexis de Sakhnoffsky 18. Fritz Eldon Baldauf 19. David Robertson Smith 20.Eugene Schoen 21. Norman Bel Geddes 22. Walter Von Nessen 23. Russel Wright 24. Herman De Vries 25. Anonymous Furniture Designs

12 64 134 250 284 328 356 360 362 366 372 378 382 386 388 394 406 412 414 426 430 436 440 458 462

The Companies: 1. Modernage Furniture Company 2.McKay 3.Kittinger

496 518 538

Other: 1. Tags, Marks, and Labels 2.Useful Bibliography 3.Thanks

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Introduction

Art Deco Furniture in The United States

n the years after World War I, furniture manufacturing was concentrated in the western portion of Michigan. The furniture manufacturers,

located primarily in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, produced revivals of historical styles: Hepplewhite, Elizabethan, Chippendale, William and Mary, Tudor, Sheraton, and many variations based on those styles called, updates . In Europe, particularly France, Austria, and Germany, a revolution was brewing in furniture design and a major exhibition for decorative arts was originally planned for 1915 in Paris but was postponed until 1925 due to World War I. The exhibition was to promote Modern decorative arts - with copies and imitations of old styles strictly excluded . When the US was invited, Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce for The United States, sent the organizers a letter saying we had nothing to exhibit. While we did not exhibit, America did attend. A commission was organized to visit the exhibition and report on it. American architects, designers, and wealthy buyers visited. While in Europe many visited The Bauhaus in Germany and saw the new style in Austria. The commission also arranged for about four hundred of the items from the exhibition to have a traveling show at eight American museums NP]PUN [OL NLULYHS WVW\SHJL HU VWWVY[\UP[` [V ZLL [OLT ÄYZ[ OHUK ,_hibits at Macy s, Abraham & Straus, Loeser s, Wanamaker s, and Lord & Taylor followed. The term Art Deco was put into popular use in 1968 by Bevis Hillier as the title of his book, Art Deco of the 20 s and 30 s. The term Art Deco is a shortening of the 1925 Paris Fair- Expostion Internationale Des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The new furniture style in the 1920 s and 1930 s was referred to as Modern , Art Moderne (after the French), or Modernistic. Rudolph Rosenthal and Helena Ratzka in their book The Story of

Paul Theodore Frankl

aul Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria in 1886 and received his diploma in architectural engineering in 1911. He immigrated to

America in 1914. By 1922 he had his own gallery in New York. His first American commission was a beauty parlor for Helena Rubenstein. Around 1925 he started making bookcases which mimicked the skyscrapers of New York with set backs and cubbyholes in the sides. It became the first truly American Modern style. Frankl, besides being America’s first Modernist, was also its foremost exponent. He lectured, and wrote magazine articles, most importantly, three installments in 1928 in Arts & Decoration magazine: Just what is this Modernistic Movement, Why we Accept Modernistic Furniture, and Logic in Modernistic Décor. Articles by and about him appeared in Architectural Digest, The Architectural Record, Architectural Forum, Interiors, Decorative Art, Architecture, Advertising & Selling, as well as House and Garden, and House Beautiful. The French magazine Art et Decoration devoted a three page article to him titled Un Decorateur New-Yorkais: Paul th. Frankl. With the new architecture (he venerated Frank Lloyd Wright, dedicating his book, New Dimensions to him) Frankl argued that a new design in furniture must accompany it. As he writes in his book Form and Reform, “Ours is the era of the machine. Machinery is creating our style. It is imposing a new tempo and a new mode of life. With shameful sentimentality we still cling to outgrown “styles” of the past – to houses designed in period styles ridiculously alien to their settings; to gilded gewgaws and polished marbles, to pseudo-period furniture”. The early thrust of Frankl’s design was the vertical. He wrote of one of his furniture pieces, “Rising up against the wall like some building against the sky”. This vertical posture combined with setbacks was the silhouette of his “Skyscraper” furniture, which flourished from ca. 1925 until the early 1930’s. The vertical was necessary in New York’s small apartments where many of his patrons lived.

By the time his “Speed” chair was introduced in 1933, Frankl was pushing a more horizontal line. Under a picture of the chair, Art & Decoration rhapsodizes, “The chair designed by Paul Frankl is expressive of the ideal of the present day and its age; speed. Its structure is stream-line, low, smooth, sturdy. Lines similar to those on a speed boat give the chair the esthetic rhythm of present day thinking”. In 1934, Frankl, tired of New York’s frantic pace, and hurting from slow sales in his gallery and lack of commissions due to The Depression, moved to California where he produced interiors and furnishings for many of Hollywood’s top stars and luminaries. His tables, chairs, and case furniture take on a low silhouette sometimes including a modernized “Chinese” style. Various articles in 1941 and 1942 describe his work as “Oriental”, “Distinctly Oriental”, and “Compostion in the Far East”. His tables for Brown Saltman shown at the 1939 World’s Fair exhibit this Oriental-Modern flair. Frankl’s death in 1958 at age 72 deprived America of its first and most adaptable Modernist.

Paul Frankl

A classic Paul Frankl skyscraper bookcase from 1927. Frankl’s skyscraper bookcases became the basis for his Skyscraper Furniture Company and were the beginning of the first truly American furniture design form. This example has two doors, a pull-out shelf, and twelve cubbyholes for books or objects. There also are two flat surfaces (three including the top) on which objects might be placed. Constructed of Blond Mahogany with black enamel trim and chrome pulls, the bookcase is 80” high, 32½“ wide, and 18” deep.

Paul Frankl

A useful table or bookshelf ca. 1929.The blond wood and black lacquer trim define areas in this piece of Paul Frankl’s Skyscraper furniture. The various nooks for books and objects are outlined in black lacquer while three steps of black lacquer lead up to the blond top. The case sits on four reverse skyscraper legs. It is 19½“ by 19½“ and stands 25¼” high.

Paul Frankl

This small bar was designed by Paul Frankl for apartments lacking the space for larger units. It is illustrated on page 100 of his 1930 book Form and Reform with this commentary, “This ‘bar-ette’ features the necessary foot rail and a circular top of colored cement”. This example has his skyscraper tag which he started in 1927, so the bar-ette dates between 1927 and 1930. The cement top is a mixture of black, blue and grey colors.

Paul Frankl

FORM AND REFORM PAGE 100

Paul Frankl

This early Paul Frankl American Art Deco table was made for Skyscraper Furniture in 1928. The table with its original green paint and silver leaf trim has his Skyscraper Furniture metal tag affixed to the underside. An identical table is shown on picture No. 37 of Frankl’s 1928 book, New Dimensions. It is also pictured on page 57 of the May 1928 issue of Arts & Decoration. The table is 19” high, 24” wide, and 18” deep.

Paul Frankl

NEW DIMENSIONS PICTURE 37

Paul Frankl

This one of a kind American Art Deco dining room set was designed on commission by Paul Frankl for his La Jolla project. The table, in black & red lacquer sits on a center plinth of frosted, mirror panels with black lacquer trim. The base is of cork veneer. The table is a near circle, measuring 60” long, 59” wide, and 30” high. When the 24” leaves are inserted the table extends to 84” long with one leaf and 108” with both leaves in place. The leaves match the tabletop so they can be kept in if the space permits. The ten chairs, which Frankl designed to go with the table, have black lacquer legs, straight in front and splayed in back. They are connected by a curved stretcher on each side. The seats and backs are covered in black leather. The chairs measure 18½” wide, 20” deep, and the backs are 32” high.

Paul Frankl

Donald Deskey

Donald Deskey & Phillip Vollmer In 1927 Donald Deskey joined with Philip Vollmer to form Deskey-Vollmer Inc. The business was at 114 East 32nd Street in New York. On the first of May 1930 the business moved to 227 East 45th Street, New York. In February of 1931 the partnership was dissolved and Deskey moved to 145 West 57th Street; Vollmer stayed at the 45th Street address. Deskey-Vollmer produced mainly furniture and lighting in the Modern manner using copper, stainless steel, chrome, glass, Bakelite, and aluminum. They also produced some furniture in wood as well as small trinkets. Deskey was the designer of all of Deskey-Vollmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s merchandise. Many manufacturers made items for Deskey-Vollmer including Royal Metal, Tretel-Gratz, Leo J. Uris, and undoubtedly others.

Donald Deskey

Donald Deskey designed this table ca. 1928 and exhibited it at the New York American Designers Gallery exhibition in 1928. Early versions were custom made in lacquered wood with Bakelite tops and brass plated steel. Ypsilanti Reed manufactured the table with the same dimensions with Bakelite covered wood and aluminum legs. It is 18” high, 20” wide, and 12” deep. The table is pictured in At Home in Manhattan and Donald Deskey: Decorative Designs and Interiors, that table has chrome banding on the bottom shelf. The table is identified as No. 1078 in the Deskey archives at The Cooper Hewitt Museum and was produced by Deskey – Vollmer. The table was also used in his commission for the apartment of Mrs. Seligman Eustice in 1931.

Donald Deskey

ADVERTISEMENT IN GOOD FURNTIURE AND DECORATION NOVEMBER 1929

Herman de Vries

erman De Vries was born in Holland and due to his early training in woodworking, moved to the Dutch speaking and furniture

making area of western Michigan around Grand Rapids. He worked for Stickley Brothers Company, Grand Rapids and left them in 1919 to set up a freelance design business. Before Stickley, De Vries worked for W.K. Cowen & Co and Marshall Field & Company and in the spring of 1936 for the H.T. Cushman Furniture Company he designed a “Modern Creations” line. In the 1930’s he designed for Sikes Furniture Company of Buffalo, New York. He is credited with two Modern bedroom sets in the November 1935 issue of Good Furniture & Decoration Magazine and his bedrooms appear in Arts & Decoration Magazine in March of 1935 and Fine Furniture Magazine of November 1936.

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Herman de Vries

This bedroom set is by the Sikes Co. of Buffalo, NY designed by Herman de Vries in 1935 consisting of one asymmetrical low chest, one round mirror, one asymmetrical high chest, one asymmetrical vanity and stool, one upholstered side chair, one queen bed and mattress and a pair of asymmetrical opposing nightstands. These pieces are constructed of maple and green enamel with circular metal pulls. The low chest is 36” high, 46” wide and 20¾” deep. The high chest is 50¾” high, 37” wide and 20¾” deep. The vanity is 26½” high, 54” wide and 18½” deep.

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Herman de Vries

FINE FURNITURE MAGAZINE NOV. 1936 PAGE 17

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Kittinger Company

n 1866 George and Oliver Colie opened a paper manufacturing company in Buffalo, NY. In 1885 they opened a factory for handcrafted

paper. In 1913 George Colieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son in law, Irvine J. Kittinger, took over the company and it took on the name Kittinger and began producing furniture. From 1937 to 1990 Kittinger had the exclusive rights for reproduction furniture for the colonial Williamsburg Foundation, making copies of 18th century furniture. In 1934 the company began producing Modern furniture. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doricâ&#x20AC;? group was introduced in 1934 and was produced until 1941. Other Modern lines were introduced in 1935 and immediately after World War II. The Kittinger family sold the company in 1966. After bankruptcy the company name and production rights were purchased in 1996. The company no longer produces Modern furniture.

539

Kittinger Company

This American Art Deco bedroom set was made by the Kittinger Authentic Furniture Company of Buffalo New York in their “Doric” line, produced from 1934 to 1941. The dresser is No. A501D and the nightstands are No. A530D. The dressing table is A527F, the bench is 2224P and the mirror is A509P in the company catalogs. The pieces are in old white with delft blue and silver trim. The dressing table is 30” high, 44” wide, and 20½” deep, the bench is 18” high and 15” in diameter and the mirror is 27½” in diameter. The dresser is 34” high, 42½” wide and 20” deep, the nightstands are 30” high, 14” wide and 15” deep.

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Kittinger Company

KITTINGER CATALOG 1934

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