'' which was published in newspapers, roused public support and resulted in the establishment of a charity, "Les Chiffoniers d'Emmaus" (The Ragpickers of Emmaus) to raise funds for them. The charity is still operational.
|
|
The "successor to the Warner Furniture company" was the Engle Furniture Company of Michel Engle. In April 1905, they commenced making dressers and later added chiffoniers, buffets, sideboards, and library tables using oak and mahogany. The Engle Furniture Company became the Reaser Furniture Company of Clayton S. Reaser in May 1907, producing over 40 styles in addition to hand-carved pieces. In May 1917 the joint venture Stouck-Reaser Company filed documents for incorporation to buy, sell and deal in wholesale lumber products.
|
|
The two women made nature studies of local plant life for what became the iconic patterned- painted panels that were set into the larger Mission style furniture pieces. The types of objects made in the furniture shop at Byrdcliffe included tables, chairs, lamp stands, hanging shelves, bookcases, sideboards and chiffoniers. “Simple lines, delicate moldings, and planar surfaces characterized Byrdcliffe pieces and belie their solid construction,” wrote curator Peter Morrin in preparation for a 1977 exhibition on the Woodstock colonies. Zulma Steele attended the 1913 Armory Show in New York City.
|
|
The lowest level of chiffoniers searched through the common refuse; they had to work very quickly, because there was great competition, and they feared that their competitors would find the best objects first. The placier was a higher class of chiffonier, who took trash from the houses of the upper classes, usually by arrangement with the concierge. The placier provided certain services, such as beating carpets or cleaning doorways, and in exchange was able to get more valuable items, from silk and satin to old clothing and shoes to leftovers from banquets. Six houses on the Champs- Elysees were enough to provide for the family of a placier.
|
|
The next level up was the chineur, a merchant who bought and resold trash, such as old bottles and corks from taverns, old clothes and bits of iron. At the top of the hierarchy were the maître-chiffoniers, who had large sheds where trash was sorted and then resold. Almost everything was re-used: old corks were sold to wine-merchants; orange peels were sold to distillers; bones were used to make dominoes, buttons, and knife handles; cigar butts were resold; and stale bread was burned and used to make a cheap coffee substitute. Human hair was collected, carefully sorted by colour, length, and texture, and used to make wigs and hair extensions.
|
|
In British usage, a chiffonier is similar to a sideboard, but differentiated by its smaller size and by the enclosure of the whole of the front by doors. It was one of the many curious developments of the mixed taste, at once cumbrous and bizarre, which prevailed in furniture during the Empire period in England. The earliest chiffoniers date from that time; they are usually of rosewood – the favorite timber of that moment; their furniture (the technical name for knobs, handles, and escutcheons) was most commonly of brass, and there was very often a raised shelf with a pierced brass gallery at the back. The doors were well panelled and often edged with brass-beading, while the feet were pads or claws, or, in the choicer examples, sphinxes in gilded bronze.
|
|
With the development of reading rooms, it became possible, for a small amount of money, to spend the whole day in a well-decorated, heated and lit room, whilst having at your disposal the necessary books for serious study or mental development. In many reading rooms, the clientele consisted mostly of literate individuals who were unable to purchase books and periodicals on a regular basis. This clientele included professionals, teachers, skilled artisans, and small merchants.Cabinet de lecture des chiffonniers de Madame Lecœur (Cité Doré). (English: The Cabinet des chiffoniers (Cité Doré) of Madame Lecœur.) The sign above the window reads: ‘Gentlemen, readers are asked not to take the books out of the reading room.’ Etching by Gustave Janet after Charles Yriarte Following the French Revolution, cabinets de lecture grew hugely in popularity.
|
|