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Flying well above its conservative estimate of $1,500-$2,000, a circa-1902 Stickley leather top gaming table took $67,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021. Image courtesy of Abington Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

The staying power of Stickley furniture is virtually unmatched

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley

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Flying well above its conservative estimate of $1,500-$2,000, a circa-1902 Stickley leather top gaming table took $67,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021. Image courtesy of Abington Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.
Flying well above its conservative estimate of $1,500-$2,000, a circa-1902 Stickley leather top gaming table took $67,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021. Image courtesy of Abington Auction Gallery and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK – With its back-to-basics approach to furniture making, the Stickley brand has become known for fine American craftsmanship. Stickley furniture has not only survived but flourished during the last century and a half.

Making furniture with several of his brothers in Pennsylvania starting in 1883, and then in his own firm in 1900 in upstate New York, Gustav Stickley whet the American appetite for furniture that was well-made and unlike the inferior machine-made pieces of the Industrial Revolution. The Arts and Crafts movement has already become popular in Britain, and Stickley helped it gain a foothold across the pond. Through his furniture and his publication, Craftsman magazine, he espoused the ideals of pride in craftsmanship, superior materials and construction techniques.

Few furniture companies have had the staying power of Stickley. While it is no longer under its original family ownership, the company continues with new designs as well as reissues of early designs that have captivated generations of buyers. Even as the company has evolved, simplicity remains a mainstay.

An inlaid settle for Stickley, model #214, having fruitwood landscapes by Harvey Ellis or LaMont A. Warner, performed comfortably within estimate at $85,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.
An inlaid settle for Stickley, model #214, having fruitwood landscapes by Harvey Ellis or LaMont A. Warner, performed comfortably within its $80,000-$120,000 estimate at $85,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

As with most varieties of antique furniture, the earliest examples in good original condition – especially those with striking forms, rarity and provenance – are apt to bring the most money. A inlaid settle for Stickley, model 214, by Harvey Ellis or LaMont A. Warner, performed comfortably within its $80,000-$120,000 estimate at $85,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2023 at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers. This circa-1903 settle in oak and fruitwood, having copper and pewter inlay, was designed shortly after Gustav Stickley brought Ellis to Syracuse, New York to design Craftsman homes and furniture. Ellis’s tenure was important but cut short by his passing in January 1904.

“The brief time that Harvey Ellis worked for Gustav Stickley is considered by many to be the stylistic peak of Stickley furniture … forms attributed to Ellis have a generally lighter touch than most Stickley works before and after,” according to Toomey’s website.

Ellis typically featured decorative wood and metal inlays, and this particular piece has six handsome — and each slightly different — fruitwood landscapes. They were centered in metal inlays, and their repetition gives a decorative finish to what was normally a simple yet classic piece. Ellis is generally credited for this design, but Warner, who worked in Stickley’s furniture department, has also been named as a possible creator of the landscapes.

A Harvey Ellis writing table for Stickley sold for $35,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers
A Harvey Ellis writing table for Stickley sold for $35,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022. Image courtesy of Toomey & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

Stickley furniture with Ellis inlays are scarce and have held their investment value. An early writing table, featuring elaborate inlays in wood and metal, brought $35,000 plus the buyer’s premium in December 2022 at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers. The 1903 table had inlaid vignettes of Viking ships and stylized floral motifs, the latter having a trident-like and elongated design inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s work. Fruitwood roundels of a Viking ship under sail were a then-favorite motif of Ellis, who tapped into early 20th-century consumers’ growing interest in Norse mythology and culture.

Stickley has long performed well on the auction market. Buyers and collectors of all means can find something in their price range, with sophisticated collectors gravitating toward early pieces such as a circa-1902 leather top gaming table that took $67,500 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021 at Abington Auction Gallery. Featuring quarter sawn oak and peg and mortise joints, the table was elegantly simple and functional, and boasted a studded leather top above six drawers.

This early Stickley oak bookcase, model #512, earned $50,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2021. Image courtesy of Butterscotch Auction and LiveAuctioneers.
This early Stickley bookcase in oak, model #512, earned $50,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2021. Image courtesy of Butterscotch Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

Fine and early bookcases are also highly sought after. A circa-1901 oak bookcase, model #512, attained $50,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2021 at Butterscotch Auction. This model, which has been widely reproduced during the years, has a glazed door that opens on multiple cabinet shelves, some open and some inner.

Two-door bookcases are also popular, and there are enough good examples in existence to attract mid-range collectors as well as veteran collectors seeking museum-quality pieces that can withstand daily use. A circa-1912 two-door bookcase, model #718, realized $8,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022 at California Historical Design. Each door has 12 panes of wavy glass, and the bookcase bears Stickley’s large shop mark on its backside.

A circa-1912 two-door Gustav Stickley bookcase, model #718, realized $8,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of California Historical Design and LiveAuctioneers.
A circa-1912 two-door Gustav Stickley bookcase, model #718, realized $8,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of California Historical Design and LiveAuctioneers.

One of the most enduring and iconic designs for Gustav Stickley was his Morris chair, which has been reissued many times. It is still produced today, albeit with modern adaptations, including bustle-back cushions. Collectors looking for authentic original examples would be satisfied with a circa-1901 tapered bow-arm Morris chair that attained $40,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2020 at Rafael Osona Auctions. The oak-frame chair retained its original black leather seat back and cushion.

This circa-1901 bow-arm Morris chair, a classic Gustav Stickley design, performed well at $40,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2020. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

This circa-1901 bow-arm Morris chair, a classic Gustav Stickley design, performed well at $40,000 plus the buyer’s premium in August 2020. Image courtesy of Rafael Osona Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

Stickley furniture has held its value across the decades and has sustained a strong track record in the auction market. Those with an eye for vintage and antique pieces that combine fine design, artful construction and practicality would be hard pressed to find better furniture for their home. These pieces, which were radical in its day, are now fixtures in many fine homes.

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