Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-06-18
FURNITURE WITHOUT GU
Chairs Made Of Bent Wood and Rat.
fan-An Austrian Thinks the Form.
er rs PreferabIe-Tbe Latter n
Patriotic Timber.
New York Tribune.

These chairs are practically indie
structible, said a representative of q
! firm which manufactures Brentwood
furniture, as he picked up chair and
hurled 1t on the floor with all his
might The chair bounded high in
the air, but came back into its orici~
nal shape without a sign OF a crack
about ii anywhere, I'VE use no
glue, and consequently our work
stands any climate" he added. sour
firm We're originally lumbermen, but
about forty years ago we went into
this Kind OF work, and now our eight
factories turn out from four thousand
to i've thousand chairs a day. The
wood used, and it is the only proper
one, IS the Austrian beech, beautiful.
straight grained wood, which is really
the standard wood in Austria. The
sticks are turned down to the RIGHT
SIZE and taper, steamed and bent. the
iron, screws and sockets put IL. and
the chair is ready Ia be vanished and
put together. It used to take over au
hour to do the steaming. and the
wood was weakened by the process.
Now we do 1t by a patent process in
three minutes. and the grain is act
ually rendered closer and the wood
strengthened by the treatment. Then
the screws are put in while it IS soft
and the wood fairly grows around
them.
we have specimens where we've
had 10 dig the screws out. You
couldn't split the stick: 1t was lust
like paper pulp. The wood never
shows any tendency 10 go back to its
original shape, and II never warps.
All our work is hand-polished; there
IS no SheIlac varnish used. By taking
the chairs apart three dxzen can be
packed IN the space Of d cubic yard.
and rescrewed together in q few min
utes after unpacking. Ia orlca ther
equal the ordinary domestic chair
costing $50 dozen. They are fin
lshed in rosewood, ebony, mahogany,
and walnut imitation colors and In
the natural beech color. Our chairs
were introduced in this country at
the time of the centennial. They
We're first used in saloons and cafes,
for which they are especially fitted,
their indestructibility coming in we'll
in case of free igkt, but they are
beginning to be used Ia private
houses. Besides chairs, we make
bedsteads, hat-racks, cradles, lounges.
and all sorts Of knickknacks for the
Austrian market, but it does not paw
to export them"
After leaving the Austrian the
reporter wandered down into Park
place, and listened to the representa-
tive of a well~known firm OF rattan
furniture makers. Rattan furniture
is an essentially American institu-.
ton" said this dealer. Occasionally
we send a few of the more costly
chairs to England, bat the home
market takes all that we can supply.
There are two firms engaged in the
business, one IN Wakefield and the
other in Gardiner, Mass. Our chairs
| cost from s. to $50 each. Rattan is
also beginning to be used for screen
| doors, mating, etc. Mr.. Vanderbilt
has his japanese room lined with it,
L believe. Rattan grows wild In
swamps in the East Indies, where no
white man can live. At the joints
grow leaves and sometimes flowers.
1t is cut by the natives at all seasons
of the year and shipped to US in
twelve-feet lengths. The smallest
| size is one-eighth of an inch in diam.
eter and costs 81 a pound From this
1t runs down to II cents pound for
that ABOUT one-half an inch in diam
eter, and then the price goes up to 20
cents for the largest which never
exceeds an inch in diameter.
The bark forms the cane That is
| woven into seats, the pulp furnishes
| the skeleton of the chair. This is
steamed and then bent, the cane is
woven about it by hand. and the
chair is completed By q coating of
shellac. The business Of importing
rattan is large. The firm which con-
trolls the trade started with $4,000
capital. 1t is now worth millions
Yes, L have seen a good deal of the
Brentwood furniture. The chairs are
the most uncomfortable things ever
created, AID they are as homely as q
rail fence. They can build them in
only one style. The rattan chair is
the only thing for patriotic Amer
can to sic in"
Tae firms that manufacture furni.
ture out Of rattan also use willow for
the same purpose. The process is
similar in every respect, excepting
the finishing coat of shellac varnish,
which is omitted when willow is used.
The same material is employed Ia
Madeira for making furniture and
knickknacks, and at one time the
goods were imported by large firm
IN Grand street, but the styles did not
take as well as those turned out bv
American makers, and they are only
brought TO this country by ship cap
tains who wish to FL out their cargo
with some light bat bulky ner~
chandise.
SimnIo- Axinho6 " ornn.,