I recently inherited several Limbert pieces that have been in our family for generations. I know very little about this furniture and am interested in any information that you may be able to provide regarding age, model and value. Below you will find pictures of the China Cabinet, Buffet, Dining Table, Side Chairs, Arm Chair and Entry Table. My dining room table set includes for leaves,five side chairs and one arm chair. I would appreciate any feedback that you can provide.

Best Regards,

JSB

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Welcome JSB,

Your dining set looks like a marriage between the A&C and Colonial styles that were popular at the turn of the century.

We have an article about Charles Limbert and his company here. If you read the ladies magazines of the time period you can see plenty of colonial decor along side the Arts and Crafts.

Limbert furniture was very well made and your set appears to me made of quality oak. A lot of the time the pieces get separated when they get handed down. You are very lucky to have inherited such a nice set.


Lauren

Your pieces look like his later period of production. Limbert arts & crafts period basiclly followed Stickley and other makers from 1901 to 1916. After WW1, America's taste in furniture had changed. The severe style of "craftsman" "mission" style gave way to revival styles. Like colonial. In a way, things went backwards. Limbert Co. lasted till Charles P died in 1922. Gustav filed for backruptcy around 1915 where his brothers L & JG took over. In both cases of Limbert and Stickley that continued to create furniture after the core period of arts & crafts design, these later period pieces became somewhat of a hodgepodge. The construction was/is still goood solid oak, however, these later pieces were mostly oak with oak veneer. For strict collectors of arts & crafts pieces, these later amalgams would not fetch the prices for early pieces. Especially for Limbert circa 1902 to 1912.
Even when labeled or stamped by a well known maker, the demand for "true" arts & crafts design is limited to the early periods. Most auction houses like Treadway and Rago will usually not accept these later pieces.

Good Morning Dave T,
Welcome to the Arts and Crafts Society and we hope you will continue coming back as you have shown some very informational subjects about Charles Limbert and Gustav Stickley.

It is true that Gustav Did file bankruptcy and one main reason was that he failed to have or the lack of administration in running the business because, he was helping his brothers to be successful while not receiving anything for himself. As with us today when the bucket is empty and no way to put something into it we are all subject of losing all of our worldly possessions.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Value is hard to determine for a set like this; I would guess maybe two grand for everything, maybe less. As Dave T already stated, the Limbert and Stickley stuff that was made after the A & C era has almost no interest for collectors. If you live near a fairly large metro area, I would put this on Ebay with a low reserve and see if you get any bites. Since shipping is expensive, it would probably have to be a local sale. Good luck.

Ralph,

Poor Gus. He stretched himself too thin: with the Craftsman magazine, the Craftsman building with its own restaurant, Craftsman Farms and Craftsman accessories like metal work and lamps.
Gus was more interested in creating a whole way of life (probably inspired by Roycroft) that he didn't manage his business well. The decline in America's taste in arts & crafts furniture put an end to an era. Gus did try to come out with colonial revivals and painted furniture. But in the end, his heart wasn't into it. Leopold Stickley was a much better businessman. He was able to adapt, unlike his older brother Gus, or other furniture makers of the day. In some respects, so-called "mission" furniture was a fad of its day. So many companies copied Gus' designs. But other things probably contributed the failure of many furniture companies. Namely, the the near extinction of old growth white oak in upstate New York and Grand Rapids, Michigan and surrounding area. Early and Craftsman period Gus pieces were solid oak. I collect only early Gus pieces and their is no veneer. Solid 2" oak boards. And solid legs. Not glued together boards that L & JG pioneered. And the use of quartersawn oak wasted a lot of wood. Early pieces were also American chestnut (which died out because of the chestnut blight). Solid mahogany wood became expensive and rare as it is today. The furniture business eventually moved to North Carolina and with it, different styles, different woods (like cherry, maple, ash etc) and again, revival styles. And then Modern styles like Art Deco from Paris became popular. It's great that the Audi family were able to buy L & JG (amazing that the company weathered the years to the near present) to revive the early Craftsman style. And that there is a new interest in Arts & Crafts period decorative arts. Here in S. California, everyone wants a craftsman bungalow. In Long Beach, we still have many standing, and two Greene and Greene mansions.

Good Morning David T,
Email me and I will insert a picture of a Greene and Greene style side board that I built and sent to Los Angeles, CA for only $3000.00 plus delivery.

My email is Ralj7@AOL.com

Respectully,

Ralph Jones.

Your Limbert furniture is most likely post-1920. The Arts and Crafts influence is still seen in some of the basic forms but later designers have added elements that don't exactly harmonize with the pure Arts and Crafts look. I would say these are probably after 1922. Charles P. Limbert sold his interest in the company in that year. The designs look to me like they would have come from a company that Charles was no longer involved with. Value-wise they are probably not anywhere near what Limbert Arts and Crafts pieces bring, but talk to several local antiques dealers to compare opinions.