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Grand Rapids in 1856

Scene of early Grand Rapids viewed from the...


Oak Bookcase with Cremona Finish

Oak Bookcase with Cremona Finish

Phoenix Furniture Company - Ca. 1890

The oak bookcase, designed by David Kendall and showing English Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts influences, has a Cremona finish creating a play of dark and light on the cabinet’s surface. The four small side shelves have a reeded post attached vertically on either side of the two doors. The doors feature three glass panels, the fourth panel, at the bottom, is wood. Cupboards, with pleat carving at the sides, are beneath each set of side shelves. One full-length drawer beneath the bookcase has lion-head drawer pulls.

Subjects

Full Details

TitleOak Bookcase with Cremona Finish
CreatorPhoenix Furniture Company
DateCa. 1890
FormatPhotograph: Posted August 26, 2014
Notes

David Kendall was one of the first academically trained designers on the full-time staff of a Grand Rapids furniture company. He was noted for developing the ‘Cremona Finish’ while a designer at the Phoenix Furniture Co, and was an innovator in the stain and fumed finishing of furniture. Kendall was influenced by the work of Charles Eastlake and the English reformers as much as by his study trips to the Orient and Latin America. The bookcase is in the furniture collection of the Grand Rapids Public Museum

Measurements: 75” high, 57” wide, 14” deep

CollectionPermanent Collection
Rights

This image was reproduced with permission from the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Photographs may not be reused without permission and must credit the "Collections of the Grand Rapids Public Museum." For rights and reproduction information contact: Grand Rapids Public Museum, Collections Department, 272 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504: Phone 616-929-1809.

InstitutionGrand Rapids Public Museum
Physical Storage LocationGrand Rapids Public Museum Archives


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