Good Morning Friends,
Continuing on with the history we find that upholstered pieces were covered with leather. And, while Mission style furniture was usually free of ornamentation, large nail heads, simple cut out patterns or hand-hammered copper appliqués were some times used for decoration. At the height of Mission furniture's popularity, from 1900 to about 1912, Stickley established the Craftsman workshop near Syracuse, New York; the Craftsman Building in New York City, which contained a home builder's exhibit, a library and a lecture hall. Elbert Hubbard, a competitor of Stickley, established a commune in East Aurora, New York, to build Mission furniture and to build the character of young people who came there to work. The English labeled their version of the Mission style as "quaint". That term is also used in various advertisements which appeared in American newspapers and magazines in early 1900s. Others called their conceptions "Gothic."

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

I find on some pieces of lesser quality furniture the use of large nail heads is sometimes used to hide simple joinery, i.e. lap joints, and a piece with better joinery and no ornamentation is in my mind more desirable. However there are exceptions when the metalwork is also part of the form and function of a piece, i.e. handles and hinges. When it comes to cutout patterns some seem to make it work while others don't. It depends on the overall look and feel of the piece. Using the term "Mission" is frowned on by some because they feel it misrepresents the context of "Arts and Crafts" by only refering to a 'style' from the south-west based on Spanish Missions and the furniture therof. Mission is also used to describe most of the modern variations of the style - you don't see your local big box mall retailers advertising "Arts and Crafts" furniture (which is probably a good thing!).

Just some thoughts. Cheers.

Hello Stonecat,
Thank you for your insight and reply, you couldn't be more correct in your topic. I am also happy that they are not putting the Arts and Crafts style on the furniture in the box stores. there are some computer desks that are advertised as in the Mission style but they are a long way from being true Mission furniture when they are made out of particle board with wood grained vinyl glued on it.

Thank you again for your reply.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Mission computer desks, that's a good one. What did a 1910 hard drive look like? hehe

On the other hand, many A&C desk and library table designs do work nicely with modern technology. I currently use a 1950's desk for my computer set-up but I have my eye on a couple A&C oak desks at a local shop and I see one coming up at auction next weekend. I also like many old oak office pieces, like filing cabinets and boxes, stacking bookcases etc., although not really designed by A&C shops they do fit in quite well. I have a nice large file box with quarter sawn flake and beefy brass handles, embossed with the office furniture company logo, a lion, - very functional and aesthetic.