Virginia furniture
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Virginia furniture is furniture that originates from the U.S. state of Virginia. Furniture was first produced in Virginia during the Colonial period and continued through the Industrial Revolution. Furniture production has decreased in recent times due to imported furniture, but Virginia is still home to a few large furniture companies.
Colonial period
In colonial Virginia, there were at least six furniture makers.[1] Anthony Hay made furniture in Colonial Williamsburg. As the colony grew, other furniture makers developed in Norfolk, Fredericksburg, Alexandria and Petersburg.[2] In Fredericksburg alone, more than a dozen manufacturers made European-style furniture in facilities owned by cabinetmakers such as Robert and Alexander Walker, James Allen and Thomas Miller. Many of these early cabinetmakers also worked at house joinery.[3]
Nineteenth century
Scholars and Virginia historians have come to understand that in early colonial and
Some companies from the early 19th century survived. In 1830, E. A. Clore was founded; it is now one of the oldest companies in the United States and still makes furniture at its Madison County location.
In the 19th century, a typical small town like Waterford, Virginia, had a number of manufacturers; in Waterford's case, makers like John Mount, William T. Mount, and Lewis N. Hough.[7]
Twentieth century
By the 20th century, the activities of groups like the
Through the 20th century,
Contemporary
Imports gained strength through the 1990s and early 21st century, and once-dominant Virginia companies have struggled to compete with
In recent years as imports have gained strength, companies like Kingsley Bate and Flexa have located manufacturing and/or distribution facilities in Virginia because of the state's easy access ports in Hampton Roads. In 2008, Swedwood Danville, a subsidiary of IKEA, opened a North American manufacturing plant in Cane Creek Center near Danville, Virginia, which employs 335 workers.[9]
References
- ^ "Cabinetmaker". Colonial Williamsburg. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Cabinetmakers Preserve Colonial Craftsmanship". Colonial Williamsburg. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Furniture". The George Washington Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Furniture of the American South 1680 - 1830: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection". Traditional Fine Arts Organization. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
- ^ "Southern Furniture 1680-1830". Chipstone. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ Shelton, Chris (1992). "Johannes Spitler, a Virginia Furniture Decorator at the Turn of the 19th Century" (PDF). Conservation OnLine (CoOL).
- ^ "Furniture Makers in Waterford, Virginia". waterfordhistory.org. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Virginia Business Online: Furniture under fire". virginiabusiness.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ Popper, Nathaniel (April 10, 2011). "Ikea's U.S. factory churns out unhappy workers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
External links
- American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a fully digitized 2 volume exhibition catalog