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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



April, 1910 



Furniture for the Home 



By Esther Singleton. 



Author of "French and English Furniture," and 

 "Dutch and Flemish Furniture" 



GREAT deal of attention has been paid of 

 late years to the making of furniture to 

 meet the constantly increasing demands 

 for articles that combine artistic qualities 

 with those of general excellence. Aston- 

 ishingly good reproductions of old models 

 are being turned out every day by the 

 large factories, while many small workshops carried on 

 by individuals and small communities of workmen are pro- 

 ducing good furniture without the aid of machinery. 



The specimens shown here are examples of work made 

 by hand by a small body of artisans, who are guided by 

 two principles: "To make things that will serve their pur- 

 pose and stand the wear and tear of time and usage" ; and 

 "to make these things as good to look at as possible." 

 First of all, therefore, good material is chosen, and in re- 

 gard to wood one of the workers says: 



"In the furniture of our forefathers, which was good 

 enough to last, the wood was picked not for its ease in 

 working, but for toughness first and then for beauty of 

 grain. In contrast with this, the commercial furniture 

 maker, not builder of to-day, must select the easily worked 

 straight-grained uninteresting wood for his machines, with- 

 out which he is lost, and he must veneer it to get beauty 

 of grain. He takes no account of the accidental beauty 

 spot, or curl, or knot, which the true artsman so fondly 

 handles and subdues to his purpose." 



Wisely enough, these furniture builders have gone back 



to ancient forms for their models; and, having selected 

 good, strong designs, construct them on solid principles. 

 The table in our illustration. Fig. 10, is mortised, tenoned, 

 pegged and glued and the two ends joined together by 

 loose wedge joints, as a glance will show. The chairs are 

 also solidly built, and are properly pegged and joined to- 

 gether. 



Fig. I represents an eight-legged table of the variety 

 popularly known to-day as the "thousand-legged table." In 

 old inventories it is referred to as "oval table," or "fold- 

 ing table," or "table that folds up." It has four stationary 

 legs joined by stretchers and four movable legs that when 

 pulled forward form a support to the drop leaf. As a 

 rule, this table was made in oak and was small in size. The 

 style remained long in fashion. 



A superb example of mahogany which belonged to Sir 

 William Johnson and which was confiscated in 1776, is 

 now in the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society. 

 This beautiful table is six feet six inches long, and the frame 

 that moves to support the leaf consists of three legs, mak- 

 ing ten legs in all. 



Figs. 5) 7, 9 and 10 are suggested by models of an 

 earlier period. 



Fig. 5 is a Gothic table, the end supports of which are 

 carved and pierced with Gothic tracery. This is a large 

 strong table suitable for a Hbrary or a side table in a din- 

 ing-room. A wine-cooler, a vase of flowers, or a hand- 

 some piece of porcelain could be placed on the bottom shelf. 



Fig. 2 — Two chairs of good style, except that the spade foot does not 

 belong to this period. 



Fig. 3 — Two chairs after a style that was popular 

 in the Seventeenth Century. 



