Patterns of early American furniture and business records, 1922-1962.

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Patterns of early American furniture and business records, 1922-1962.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/84665581

Collection consists of 1515 drawings and patterns of furniture along with business records that relate to Bair's furniture repair activities. The patterns of early American furniture are in the William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and Phyfe styles and were made from 1922 to 1962 for the repair and reproduction of furniture. Forms represented include chairs, sofas, secretaries, highboys, lowboys, clocks, mirrors, tables, stands, etc. The drawings display intricate attention to detail in dimensions, inlay, carving, and turning. Also included is a drawing book showing hardware design and ball and claw chairs. A few patterns were laid in ledgers, specifically a pediment design for a chest and book case (templates), a design for a desk and for a rosette, and small drawings of inlay. The business records consist of nine ledgers and/or receipt books for the years 1928 to 1936, 1940, 1943 to 1954, and 1960 to 1961; copies of receipts kept for tax purposes from 1959 to 1961; correspondence with customers; a letter regarding the purchase of curly maple; and a list of names and addresses of frequent customers and suppliers. Ledger entries consist of the name of the customer or his initials, a description of the piece of furniture to be repaired, and either charges for restoring and refinishing or the number of hours spent on the repair. Bair was careful to note whether he charged sales tax and tax identification numbers for Stuart and Kendig are found throughout the volume. One of the volumes contains an itemized list of income and expenses for the years from 1954 to 1960. Bair had such expenses as electricity, heat, and fire insurance for the shop; supplies, including glue, masking tape, sand paper, screws, and a hand saw; and such finishing material as alcohol, linseed oil, turpentine, wax, "dryer," and steel wool.

3 cubic ft. : ill.

Winterthur Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 8325490

Winterthur Library

Related Entities

There are 3 Entities related to this resource.

Stuart, Robert Shelton

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s77520 (person)

Robert S. Stuart was an active collector and student of the American decorative arts. He also did appraisals and loaned objects for exhibition. Stuart lived in Chestnut Hill, Pa. From the description of Papers, 1920-1983. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 84665499 ...

Kendig, Joe.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm6271 (person)

Bair, Jesse William, fl. 1922-1962.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b00thk (person)

Jesse W. Bair was a cabinetmaker who worked in the early American style. He had his home and shop in Hanover, Pa. Although Bair made hundreds of pieces of furniture, most of his business activity was centered on furniture repair and restoration. His primary clients were Joe Kendig and Robert S. Stuart. Bair was married to Alma B. Bair; they had at least one son, Richard. From the description of Patterns of early American furniture and business records, 1922-1962. (Winterthur Library)...