Tobey Furniture Company Dining Suite
Tobey Furniture Company, Chicago, Illinois, C.1900s
This Gothic Revival example of American furniture exuberantly showcases the extent of fine furniture making in an era of greater mass production. With delicate gothic tracery and a bold acanthus leaf skirt, the makers add a playful element with monks and nuns displayed with amusing expressions adorning each piece. The tall case clock takes this to the next level with dragons supporting a projecting gothic bay and topping the architectural form with a full bust of a monk. The suite can be seen as it was in the 1950s with its previous family in the black and white photo on the sideboard.
Tobey Furniture Company
Founded by the brothers Charles and Frank Tobey, the firm opened as a retail furniture dealer in 1856 and began manufacturing in 1870, when it bought a local cabinet shop. By 1890, it was considered Chicago’s most important decorating company.
Much of Tobey’s finest work came from its own workshop. In 1888 Frank Tobey brought in the Norwegian cabinetmaker Wilhelm F. Christiansen to run a subsidiary factory, where dozens of cabinet makers, finishers, and polishers produced the expensive, high-quality pieces that put Tobey among the top American makers.