Gustav Stickley Biography
Gustav Stickley, born March 9, 1858 in Osceola, Wisconsin, was an American furniture maker of great importance in the field of design, a publisher and a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States. Together with his brothers Charles and Albert, Gustav founded Stickley Brothers & Company in 1883. After five years, the company dissolved, and Stickley's ambitions led him to team up with Elgin Simonds, a salesman in the furniture industry, to form the Stickley & Simonds firm in Binghamton, New York. In the summer of 1900, he collaborated with Henry Wilkinson and, perhaps, LaMont A. Warner to create his first design works within an experimental line called New Furniture. In October 1901, Stickley published the first issue of "The Craftsman" magazine, an important vehicle for disseminating the Arts and Crafts philosophy, as well as a means of promoting his factory's products through articles, reviews and advertisements for a wide range of products of interest to the domestic public. Stickley's furniture reflects his ideals of simplicity, solid construction and the use of authentic materials. The use of colored leather, canvas, sponge and other upholstery materials complemented the design of his pieces. In 1905, Stickley moved his headquarters to New York City and later, in 1907, began purchasing land to establish a boys' boarding school in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Gustav Stickley died on April 21, 1942.
