104: HARVEY ELLIS, ATTRIBUTION FOR GUSTAV STICKLEY, Rare and Early cabinet < Early 20th Century Design, 2 March 2023 < Auctions

Early 20th Century Design

2 March 2023

Early 20th Century Design

104

Harvey Ellis, attribution for Gustav Stickley
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Rare and Early cabinet

USA, c. 1903
oak, glass, patinated steel 50¾ h × 68½ w × 15 d in (129 × 174 × 38 cm)

estimate: $20,000–30,000

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Cabinet features six doors concealing four fixed shelves, and two open storage compartments. Large red manufacturer's decal to reverse ‘Als Ik Kan Stickley’ with joiner's compass.
provenance: Asbury Park estate (first owner) | Acquired from the previous by a private collector in the 1970s (second owner) | Rago, Early 20th C. Design, 23 September 2017, Lot 305 | Private Collection
literature: The Early Work of Gustav Stickley, Gray, pg. 2

This work will ship from Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Gustav Stickley 1858–1942

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Gustav Stickley, whose name is synonymous with Craftsman furniture, was a visionary American proponent for the Arts and Crafts philosophy in design, literature, and life. At the peak of his career, his furniture was sold throughout the country, Craftsman houses built in many areas, and The Craftsman magazine widely read. After bankruptcy in 1915, Stickley was largely forgotten until the 1970s, when his importance as a designer was rediscovered by a new generation.

The eldest son of first generation German immigrants, Stickley was born into a family that owned furniture-manufacturing businesses. He found inspiration in the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris and the well-built, hand-crafted furniture and the brotherhood of honest labor they espoused. In 1898 he established the Gustav Stickley Company in Eastwood, a suburb of Syracuse, New York. He adopted a William Morris motto, "Als ik kan" ("If I can") and used the symbol of a medieval joiner’s compass as his trademark.

Stickley’s furniture was a radical departure from the American furniture of the Victorian era. Surfaces were unadorned, mortise and tenon joinery and wood grain exposed. The hammered metal hardware underscored the artisanal look of furniture, which was fabricated both by hand and by contemporary woodworking machines.

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