Limbert
Rare library table, model 140


USA, 1906-18
oak
27 h x 30 w x 24 d in (69 x 76 x 61 cm)

This table is reminiscent of the smoking room tables for the Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. A great example of this rare form.

Branded manufacturer's mark under top 'Limberts Arts & Crafts Made in Grand Rapids and Holland'.

Provenance: John Toomey Gallery, Oak Park | Private Collection

Literature: Limbert's Arts and Crafts Fall 1905, manufacturer's catalog, unpaginated Kindred Styles: The Arts and Crafts Furniture of Charles P. Limbert, Bartinique, ppg. 50, 107 Mackintosh Furniture, Billcliffe, pg. 106 illustrates a period photograph of Mackintosh-designed table

Catalog Note: Charles Rennie Mackintosh swept the world of furniture design by storm with his innovative and trendsetting designs in the late 19th century. His designs during this period are a precursor to the English Arts & Crafts Movement and subsequent design movements throughout Europe and America, though they shared the same belief-craftsmanship and practicality are the integral qualities of "good" furniture.

Charles Limbert, who began his career as a furniture salesman, had an acute sense for detecting not only the latest design trends, but also sales strategies. During his frequent trips to Europe in the early 1900s, he was able to experience several different schools of design. Limbert stated in his catalog published in 1905, "We have made a careful study of this distinctive school of design [Arts & Crafts] which is so much cultivated by European artists. In England by the Arts and Crafts Societies-in France it is known as the new Art-in Germany and Austria as Kunst Hardwerk-and in America it is a revival of the Old Mission Furniture found in the missions of California and Mexico". Limbert made himself stand out from the rest of the American Arts & Crafts furniture makers by incorporating unusual and exotic design elements, namely Mackintosh of Glasgow, Vienna Secession and Dutch folk furniture, even though it meant that he would have to somewhat compromise the structural integrity of his works due to a more delicate assembly style that these designs required.

Between 1904 and 1910, Mackintosh and Vienna Secession-inspired motifs started appearing more frequently in Limbert's designs, exemplified by geometric cut-outs and slanted triangular or trapezoidal legs. Scholars have noted while his designs may be considered derivative of the earlier designs that were proven successful, it is important to recognize his role in reinterpreting and popularizing the significant European designs to a broader audience in his home country.

This work will ship from Chicago, Illinois.

Excellent original finish. Table shows scattered minor impressions to top, edges and legs with light staining and discoloration to top. Structurally sound.