Virginia furniture
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Virginia furniture is furniture that originates from the U.S. state of Virginia . Furniture was first produced in Virginia during the Colonial period and continued through the Industrial Revolution . Furniture production has decreased in recent times due to imported furniture, but Virginia is still home to a few large furniture companies.
Colonial period
In colonial Virginia, there were at least six furniture makers. [1] Anthony Hay made furniture in Colonial Williamsburg . As the colony grew, other furniture makers developed in Norfolk , Fredericksburg , Alexandria and Petersburg . [2] In Fredericksburg alone, more than a dozen manufacturers made European -style furniture in facilities owned by cabinetmakers such as Robert and Alexander Walker, James Allen and Thomas Miller. Many of these early cabinetmakers also worked at house joinery . [3]
Nineteenth century
Scholars and Virginia historians have come to understand that in early colonial and Federal years, Virginia had a more vibrant furniture industry than first realized. [4] Styles included Chippendale , Queen Anne and vernacular styles. As Virginia citizens emigrated west, Virginia stylists and furniture makers took their patterns and styles with them. [5] Not all the styles mimicked the British ; emigrants like the German Johannes Spitler brought their native painting and folk decorative styles to the Shenandoah Valley . [6]
Some companies from the early 19th century survived. In 1830, E. A. Clore was founded; it is now one of the oldest companies in the United States and still makes furniture at its Madison County location.
In the 19th century, a typical small town like Waterford, Virginia , had a number of manufacturers ; in Waterford's case, makers like John Mount, William T. Mount, and Lewis N. Hough. [7]
Twentieth century
By the 20th century, the activities of groups like the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities , led to a renewed interest in colonial styles. Companies like Biggs Furniture grew from a small antiques shop in Richmond into a major reproductions manufacturer that came close to rivaling Ethan Allen . [ citation needed ] With the establishment of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1930s, the interest in colonial reproductions grew, though reproductions of the Williamsburg collection were made by the Kittinger Company of New York .
Through the 20th century, mass-marketed furniture prevailed, and companies like Stanley Furniture , Pulaski Furniture , Rowe Furniture and Bassett Furniture grew into national brands . They grew around the area of Martinsville , where they sometimes formed company towns . The height of this movement came when Thomas Bahnson Stanley , founder of Stanley Furniture , became Governor of Virginia in 1954. Many of these companies now show their wares in High Point, North Carolina , the American city most synonymous with furniture, located just south of Martinsville.
Contemporary
Imports gained strength through the 1990s and early 21st century, and once-dominant Virginia companies have struggled to compete with imports . [8] While not a descriptive adjective like Williamsburg, a Virginia style of decorating has permeated the world of interior design . [ citation needed ] Virginia natives like Nancy Lancaster , William Haines , Charlotte Moss and Bunny Williams have had influential roles in interior design using neo-traditional and modern approaches. In addition, high-end start ups like McKinnon and Harris have created new markets in lawn and garden furniture .
In recent years as imports have gained strength, companies like Kingsley Bate and Flexa have located manufacturing and/or distribution facilities in Virginia because of the state's easy access ports in Hampton Roads . In 2008, Swedwood Danville , a subsidiary of IKEA , opened a North American manufacturing plant in Cane Creek Center near Danville, Virginia , which employs 335 workers. [9]
References
- ↑ "Cabinetmaker" . Colonial Williamsburg . Retrieved 28 May 2016 .
- ↑ "Cabinetmakers Preserve Colonial Craftsmanship" . Colonial Williamsburg . Retrieved 28 May 2016 .
- ↑ "Furniture" . The George Washington Foundation . Retrieved 28 May 2016 .
- ↑ "Furniture of the American South 1680 - 1830: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection" . Traditional Fine Arts Organization . Retrieved 2017-07-30 .
- ↑ "Southern Furniture 1680-1830" . Chipstone . Retrieved 28 May 2016 .
- ↑ Shelton, Chris (1992). "Johannes Spitler, a Virginia Furniture Decorator at the Turn of the 19th Century" (PDF) . Conservation OnLine (CoOL) .
- ↑ "Furniture Makers in Waterford, Virginia" . waterfordhistory.org . Retrieved 28 May 2016 .
- ↑ "Virginia Business Online: Furniture under fire" . virginiabusiness.com . Archived from the original on 20 November 2002 . Retrieved 28 May 2016 .
- ↑ Popper, Nathaniel (April 10, 2011). "Ikea's U.S. factory churns out unhappy workers" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2011-08-23 .
External links
- American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art , a fully digitized 2 volume exhibition catalog