Hard for me to believe GS made these items but the labels look good. What gives? Another case of fraud? If so they did a good job on the labels but I think the furniture looks closer to cheap reproductions made in the 40s or 50s.
Believe it or not, I think it's legit. This is furniture from the 1915 catalog, Gus's last one. The buffet and the server match catalog pics (but the buffet is missing a back splash). I don't see the pie safe (as its described) but there is a wardrobe type cabinet that's close. It was an interesting year for Gus in 1915. In January he shipped out the last of his good Mission stuff, then started making this stuff, ran a catalog, went bankrupt in March, sat out the rest of the year, and then went to work for Leopold and John George who bought his factory. I'll make scans in the morning of these pieces.
Wow, I knew that he began to make some different styles just before bankruptcy but I thought it was restricted to the Chomewald(sp?) line that was painted. It is unfortunate that he had to resort to what looks like thrown together reproductions of federal type furniture.
Here's an ad from January 1915, from the New York Times, followed by the 1915 catalog pic with the buffet and server. The historical notes with the catalog reprint say that the 1915 furniture was likely made by someone else, not Gus's shop. This makes sense because if he was bankrupt by March, he saw it coming sometime in 1914, shipped out the last of his good stuff at the end of 14 into 15, whipped up a short catalog with wholesale pieces from someone else and then packed it in. The Chromewald stuff was made in 1917, by the amalagamation of Gus and his brothers (calling themselves Stickley Associated Cabinet Makers), which technically was the brothers company, Gus was just a VP, but he gave it up in 1918, and that was that for Gus. I hope I got that all straight.
Thanks for the interesting information Stonecat! It sure is tough to keep it all straight. I have read that whole story about Gus's business demise but didn't know about the batch of furniture he sold in this style.
