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March, 2020  The Antique Shoppe   Page 33
                                                                                  of the unusual mechanism employed to retract the glass door of the individual
                            COMMON SENSE                                          units. This unit used a spring-loaded roller attached to the door by two long
                                                                                  leather straps that wound around the roller as it retracted the door.
         ANTIQUES                                                                 Wernicke in his original Minneapolis shop as early as 1891, well before
                                                                                    In fact, the earliest elastic bookcases were patented and produced by Otto
                                                                                  he moved to Grand Rapids in 1897 and well before he helped start Globe-
                                                    By Fred Taylor                Wernicke in 1904. And all his cabinets, early or otherwise, used the now
                                                                                  famous scissor mechanism to stabilize the doors rather than a roller and leather
                                                                                  straps. The only variation used by Wernicke was after he left Globe-Wernicke
                         OCCAM’S RAZOR                                            and acquired Fred Macey’s business. Under the Macey name he produced
                                                                                  cabinets that used a geared wheel and track to stabilize the doors.
                                                                                     Occam’s Razor cut through the misguided assumption and established that
                              Don’t Get Cut                                       the cabinet had some sort of aftermarket Rube Goldberg mechanism, probably

                                                                                  due to missing or broken scissor mechanisms.
           In doing the research to answer several                                                                Then there was the case of the famous and
        readers’ recent inquiries about their furniture,                                                      assumed misused trade name that originally
        the specter of Occham’s Razor has reared its                                                          belonged to one of America’s most famous
        head to demand attention. Occam’s Razor states                                                        furniture makers, Stickley Brothers of Grand
        in its simplest and slightly incorrect form that                                                      Rapids. The trade name in question was that
        the simplest solution to a problem is usually the                                                     of “Quaint American.” Stickley Brothers used
        correct answer. The actual proposition stated by                                                      that name beginning in the late 1910s as part
        14th century English logician and Franciscan                                                          of its seemingly endless variation of the name
        Friar Father William of Ockham (d’Okham),                                                             Quaint, first used around 1903 for its “Quaint
        also spelled as Occam, stated that the solution                                                       Mission” line of Arts & Crafts/Mission style
        with the fewest assumptions was usually                                                               furniture.
        the correct solution. The “Razor” part of the                                                             A reader had a bedroom set marked as
        postulation is that bit of logic used to shave                                                        “Quaint American” but it carried the maker’s
        away unnecessary assumptions.                                                                         label of Carl V. Forslund. He had enough
            The first item in the research list was                                                           furniture background to know the Quaint
        an “unusual” six-legged table according to                                                            American name belonged to Stickley Brothers
        the owner. It also had exotic inlaid wood                                                             and he had no idea who this Forslund character
        on the top. The owner had been his elderly                                                            was. He thus assumed it was a blatant case
        grandmother from whom he had inherited the                                                            of trademark infringement and figured the set
        table. She died at an advanced age in the 1990s                                                       must be worth quite a bit.
        having immigrated from Germany through                                                                   In fact, Carl V. Forslund, Inc. was the
        Ellis Island in the early 20th century. Family                                                        marketing arm of manufacturer Brothers
        history asserted that she had brought the table                                                       Forslund, (later changed to Forslund Brothers)
        with her from Germany and since she was over         This “German table” was American made during the   founded in 1935 by Carl V. Forslund, Sr, a
        90 when she died the table had to be over 100                 Depression era of the 1930s.            Stickley Brothers salesman who quit to begin
        years old and handmade. In essence, family                                                            his own company. He formed the marketing
        history said it was a German table made in the                                                        arm the same year. Stickley Brothers closed
        19th century.                                                             in 1954 and Forslund was granted a license to continue producing some of the
            Out comes the razor. The first assumption is that she brought it with her   Stickley lines. Quaint American was one of them. So instead of a trademark
        from Germany. No facts, just assumption. One fact is that most immigrants   lawsuit case, we have a case of an unfounded assumption that the Razor was
        who reached this country through Ellis Island did not bring their furniture with   able to slice away, given more facts and fewer assumptions.
        them. In fact, they usually landed with nothing more than the clothes on their    Occam’s Razor is an important
        backs and a scrap of paper with their names written in English and hopefully   tool in the armory of any furniture
        the name of a relative already in America.                                investigator and is closely related
            The second assumption, that it was made in Germany before she         to the concept of the provenance,
        immigrated, was based on the first faulty assumption and was as unreliable as it   the actual, fact-based history of
        was. The third assumption of “unusual” design and “exotic” inlay was based on   a piece rather than assumptions.
        the second assumption, that the table was made in Europe.                 Don’t let the Razor cut you.
            After slicing away the assumptions the facts were that the six-legged design
                                                                                    Send your comments, questions and
        was not unusual at all. It was one the most popular designs of the Depression   pictures to me at PO Box 215, Crystal River,
        era of the 1920s and 1930s, used in “occasional tables” that populated living   FL 34423 or email them to me at info@
        rooms of the period. The exotic inlay was also not quite so prosaic. It was in   furnituredetective.com
                                                                                    Visit Fred’s website www.furnituredetective.
        fact a mix of stump cut walnut veneer and flat cut mahogany veneer divided   com and check out the downloadable
        by a multi-color band of inlay. Stump cut or butt cut walnut was the most   “Common Sense Antiques” columns in .pdf
        used decorative veneer in the Depression era of the 1920s and 1930s when   format. His book “HOW TO BE A FURNITURE
                                                                                  DETECTIVE” is now available for $18.95 plus
        the table was made. Stump cut veneer is cut from the stump of a walnut tree   $3.00 shipping. Send check or money order for
        below ground level where the grain pattern is very confused and erratic. The   $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River,
        skirt and legs of the table were made of the secondary wood, red gum. The use   FL 34423
                                                                                    Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD,
        of Occam’s Razor turned a 19th century German handmade table into a mass-  “IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE
        produced Depression era table, produced by the hundreds of thousands in the   FURNITURE”, ($17.00 + $3.00 S&H) are also
        period.                                                                   available at the same address. For more
                                                                                  information call (800) 387-6377 (9AM-4PM
           The same process was used to try to identify a Globe-Wernicke elastic   Eastern, M-F only), fax 352-563-2916, or e-mail
        bookcase. While the piece did have the Globe-Wernicke logo the owner      info@furnituredetective.com.           It is unlikely that this spring loaded
                                                                                    All items are also available directly from the
        assumed it had to be one of the very earliest bookcases of that type because   website, www.furnituredetective.com  roller with leather straps was used
                                                                                                                              by Globe-Wernicke.
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