TL
29-Jul-12
Frank Lloyd Wright Table?
I picked up a teak side table today with a black slate top. The table was made by Sevacraft. Hand written and taped to the bottom of the table was a piece of paper that said "Frank Lloyd Wright Table". I seriously doubt it is his design, but I thought I would ask if in fact he designed any tables?
Thanks for the info
posted by RetroJones
edited on 29-Jul-12 04:08 AM  [edit]
 
29-Jul-12
well
I am no expert, but mr. FLW often designed EVERYTHING in a house, right down to the silverware, and this would obviously include tables. A google search should confirm
posted by waffle
 [edit]
 
29-Jul-12
He definitely designed...
He definitely designed furniture (including tables) for Henredon.
posted by foxxxy
 [edit]
 
29-Jul-12
Teak is
not a specie ever specified by Frank Lloyd Wright, for a house or for a furniture piece. Nor did he employ slate (an excellent top material, I would think) in his many, many furniture pieces, to my knowledge.

A photo would be helpful in determining whether your table looks anything like a Wright piece.

Google is a useful resource -- though not infallible, by a long shot. There is at least one piece on each page of this file which was not designed by Mr Wright, no matter what the caption may say . . .


http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Frank%2i...
posted by SDR (USA)
edited on 29-Jul-12 06:32 PM  [edit]
 
30-Jul-12
he did use slate
here is a photo of a HH FLW table with a slate top
posted by nico59
 [edit]
 
30-Jul-12
and another
(that said, can find no link between FLW and a Sevacraft)
posted by robert1960 (UK)
edited on 30-Jul-12 04:01 PM  [edit]
 
30-Jul-12
Thanks.
I hadn't been aware of the Heritage Henredon pieces with slate slab tops.

In the 1904-06 Larkin administration building in Buffalo, Wright used a material called magnesite both for flooring and for furniture tops -- sort of an early synthetic slate or "solid surface material." He later used either linoleum or plastic laminate for kitchen and bath tops. As far as I know he never tried concrete, which would seem to have related nicely to the red-tinted slab floors of his later houses. Slate would have been a nice alternative -- but the architect wanted always to limit the palette of materials, including masonry. . .
posted by SDR (USA)
 [edit]
 
30-Jul-12
I?m also pretty sure...
I?m also pretty sure the dining table in the Hollyhock (barnsdale) house has a slate top. I've taken the tour there a few times and I seem to remember that fact being stated on the tour. Although i could be wrong. As Nico59 and robert1960's photo's show, they do exist. Now, from my understanding there is only one furniture company authorized to reproduce Frank Lloyd designs by the Frank Lloyd Wright preservation trust is a company called Copeland Furniture.

http://www.copelandfurniture.com/category_flw.php

I contacted the trust and they confirmed that fact.
That being said I do know that when he designed the Johnson Wax Headquarters all the furniture he designed (much of it still in use) was made by steelcase. As I understand it, he designed most (if not all) the furniture specifically for a room and/or project and usually it was contracted out to local carpenters. I cant confirm or deny that he ever specifically designed a furniture line for a company but either way it wouldn?t surprise me if he did or didn't.

I know there wasn?t an answer in there for you but I hope some of the info helped. I think your best bet is to try to track down the company sevacraft (which may be hard due to the fact many companies have been bought many times over and names have been changed) but if you can find info on the company it may give you a where/when and then it would be a matter of cross checking that info with his projects in that area at that time. Anyway good luck and please keep us posted on any findings.
posted by Steve04424
 [edit]
 
30-Jul-12
at least one more
Steve04424

You missed the Cassina "I Maestri" collection. They produce several authorized pieces of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. Now "your understanding" will be that there are two companies.
http://www.cassina.com/portal/page/portal/new/webpages/cassn...
posted by niceguy
edited on 30-Jul-12 08:27 PM  [edit]
 
31-Jul-12
nice guy
good call, i was not aware of their collection. I appericate you pointing it out to me. although i am little confused now both companies claim to have "exclusive rights" to the same designs. i.e. the barrel chair. it says under cassina's branding drop down:

http://www.cassina.com/portal/page/portal/new/webpages/cassina/catalogue/product?p=code:CS_606;is_finder_result:0&lang=en

" the signature of the Author, whose copyright belongs to his heirs, the use of which has been granted exclusively to Cassina and which in the form of a trade mark, certifies the authenticity of the furniture;"

and also on:

http://www.copelandfurniture.com/category_flw.php

"Under exclusive license to build the furniture designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, Copeland Furniture presents a collection of furnishings created by America's preeminent architect."

how is this so?

posted by Steve04424
 [edit]
 
31-Jul-12
What is omitted
is that the license, in each case, is for the pieces which the respective manufacturers reproduce -- not for the entire catalog of Wright's furniture designs.
posted by SDR (USA)
 [edit]
 

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