Monthly Archives: June 2013

A detail of the Blacker table showing brackets and wood drawer pull.

A detail of the Blacker table showing brackets and wood drawer pull.

The holdings of the Metropolitan Museum’s Gallery 743 read like a greatest hits list of American Arts & Crafts makers, featuring pieces by Gustav Stickley, Dick Van Erp, William Lightfoot Pierce, Arthur Frank Mathews, Charles Rohlfs, and the Byrdcliffe Colony.

Included in the collection are a library table, dining chair, and lantern Charles and Henry Greene designed as part of a commission for the retired lumberman Robert Blacker. As with much of the furniture designed by the Greenes, these pieces were built in the shop of Peter Hall.   Emil Lange, formerly of Tiffany Studios, made the lantern’s glass panels. Continue reading →

Limbert No. 234 Side Table–Construction

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Limbert's No. 234 side table reproduced in pine.

Limbert’s No. 234 side table reproduced in pine.

I’ve admired the No. 234’s design for some time, but at 18 inches, it seems a little short for a side table. Before committing to white oak or cherry for my final project, I rehearsed the build in pine. Since the wide board I picked up had some nice quarter-sawn figure along both edges, I took some time cutting around knots and glued up the top and base. While my panels dried, I prepared the template, laying out the pattern on a piece of plywood and building a quick frame sized for the square cutouts. Using a template for the cutouts on the template requires substantially less time than drilling out the corners of each cutout, sawing close the line and sanding and filing to final shape. Continue reading →

Limbert No. 234 Side Table–Design

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Sketch of the Limbert 234 Side Table

The 234 is distinguished by its small size and square cutouts.

The No. 234 features the square cutouts found in many of Limbert’s designs (see also the No. 367 bookcase). Here they echo, in negative form, the square top. The 16-inch top is centered on a 12-inch columnar base. At 18 inches high, it is shorter than the usual height of side tables, but two together make an interesting alternative to a coffee table. A tapered notch forms two feet on on each side.