January, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



vu 



Sheraton Furniture 



THE term "Renaissance" is usually applied 

 to the great classic revival which, begin- 

 ning in Italy in the fifteenth century, 

 gradually spread throughout Europe, but the 

 eighteenth century had also its Renaissance in 

 France to express itself in Louis XVI style; in 

 England it made itself felt in the work of 

 Robert and James Adam and in the furniture of 

 Heppehvhite and Sheraton. 



To the Adam brothers was really due the re- 

 action that took place both in architecture and 

 furniture making. The brothers did not create 

 the style which bears their name but they adapted 

 to English conditions a style as old as ornament 

 itself and which had already gained a footing in 

 France. 



The influence of the Adam brothers on the 

 furniture makers of their time was very marked. 

 The later work of Heppelwhite, and more es- 

 pecially of Sheraton, was largely shaped by them. 

 Sheraton did not imitate; he was too great for 

 that; but he embodied in his furniture a feeling 

 for simplicity which he himself was generous 

 enough to attribute to the brothers. In this 

 country the Adam type of furniture is best known 

 by the work of Thomas Sheraton. Heppelwhite's 



"Sheraton Bureau," model from Berkey & Gay 

 Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 

 furniture also shows a strong Adam influence. 

 The characteristics of the Adam style were, to 

 quote an old writer, "simplicity, elegance, slender- 

 ness and low relief." 



Chippendale won most of his laurels by his ex- 

 quisite carving and the masterly way he applied 

 ornament to form. This statement refers to his 

 best work, which was executed before he 

 adopted his rococo methods. His early work 

 was strongly influenced by the Dutch and his 

 later efforts by the French. The English designer 

 has never been at his best when copying the 

 Frenchman. 



To-day, the fancy of collectors, particularly in 

 this country, turns to the designs of Sheraton 

 and Heppelwhite. The designs of these great 

 furniture makers are often confused and there 

 is some foundation for it. Both used the long, 

 tapering leg, and both made a most effective 

 use of inlay. Sheraton's inlay, as we find it in 

 America, is often in the form of slender lines 

 sunk in a mahogany surface; lines of holly, hare- 

 wood, satinwood, boxwood or kingwood. He ob- 

 tained masterly effects with inlay, often in the 

 simplest manner possible. Heppehvhite usually 

 chose more elaborate patterns, but clung to a 

 simple and beautiful form of construction. The 

 fluted leg is generally attributed to Sheraton, and 

 the plain tapering one to Heppelwhite, but Sher- 

 aton made use of the taper just as he sometimes 

 did of the shield back for his chairs. With 

 Heppelwhite the shield-shaped chair was his 

 most common form. When Heppelwhite used 

 the plain, tapering leg he added the spade-foot, 

 which Sheraton never did. 



In looking for reproductions of Sheraton's 

 work it would be hard to find anything better 

 for a bedroom than the bureau which we illus- 

 trate. It has the charm and refinement necessary 

 for a room which above all should be simple 

 and dainty in its appointments. This furniture 

 expressed the spirit of the best work of the late 

 eighteenth century, and a careful examination 

 of its construction will show that painstaking 

 regard for detail which was the hall-mark of 

 the handicraft of that day. In a room decorated 

 in the style of the period, where wall-hangings, 

 curtains, and floor coverings have been chosen 

 to harmonize, it would be possible to obtain by 

 the use of this bureau and the pieces which ac- 

 company it, a. very attractive Sheraton bedroom. 



Note. The model for this article is from Berkey & Gay 

 Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., who make correct 

 reproductions of Colonial and Period Furniture. Their 

 brochure, entitled "Furniture of Character," is instruc- 

 tive, and can be obtained by sending 15 cents in postage 

 to Dept. M to partly defray expenses. 



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