FACTORY NAMES
Stickley & Simonds (1888-1898)
Stickley left The Stickley Brothers Company, which he had formed with his brothers Albert and Charles in 1883, to partner with Elgin A. Simonds in December 1888. Like many furniture makers of the period the firm produced revival-style furniture–with Queen Anne and Chippendale styles dominating–along side simple, more shaker-inspired wares. From 1891-97 the firm operated a workshop at the New York State Prison at Auburn and used prison labor in their manufacturing. Although the dissolution of the firm has been described as acrimonious, it is worth noting that Elgin Simonds appears in the Sales Journals and sporadically purchased from Stickley.
F. H. Mills Company (1893-1896)
Previously unrecorded as a venture Stickley was associated with, the F. H. Mills Company was based at Elmira Reformatory in New York State and appears to have used inmate labor extensively for the production of wares. Documentation of this firm is scarce, and comes from a number of newspaper references, as well as a lawsuit for damages caused by a fire at the prison. Stickley served as Treasurer of the company for a brief period, but his role following this remains unclear. Fred H. Mills (1856-1926) served as the company’s president. It is not known how Mills and Stickley met but by 1892 the New York State Census recorded him involved in the lumber industry, and by 1898 he was also a shareholder in Stickley & Simonds.
Gustav Stickley Company (1898-1901)
Anything produced after 1898 up to (but not including) the furniture from Chips from the Workshops of The United Crafts. Works manufactured by this company include forms from New Furniture from the Workshop of Gustave Stickley, Chips from the Workshop of Gustave Stickley, and the 1901 Factory inventory.
The United Crafts (1901-03)
Forms documented to Chips from the Workshops of the United Crafts, the 1901 Retail Plates, The W. B. Moses and Sons retail plates, the 1902 factory inventory, Things Wrought by the United Crafts at Eastwood, NY, the 1902 Retail Plates, images from The Craftsman up through December 1903, and the 1903 factory inventory.
The Craftsman Workshops (1904-12)
By January 1904, with the publication of “Structure and Ornament in The Craftsman Workshops,” in that month’s issue of The Craftsman, Stickley essentially confirmed the change of name from The United Crafts to The Craftsman Workshops. Beginning with What is Wrought in The Craftsman Workshops and continuing through the 1912 Craftsman Furniture catalog, all of the forms Stickley produced in this period are attributable to this entity.
Gustav Stickley, The Craftsman (1912-16)
By October 1912, with the publication of Craftsman Furnishings for the Home, Stickley’s wares were sold under the name Gustav Stickley, The Craftsman. This designation persisted until 1916 when his business was absorbed by “Stickley Associated Cabinetmakers,” although it is clear from the advertising that Gustav Stickley’s name continued to be the major draw and was used frequently. This was a partnership that included L & JG Stickley as well as the Stickley Brothers in Grand Rapids, all of whom advertised the making and selling of Chromewald and Colonial Revival furniture during the final years that Gustav Stickley’s designs remained in production. Because of the limited documentation of what that final iteration of the firm made and designed (as well as limited information about the marking system), I have chosen to group all of the post-1915 furniture under the umbrella of Gustav Stickley, The Craftsman until these distinctions become clear.