Eastlake
Style Furniture
Eastlake
style was a departure from the flowery carving sinuous lines
and white marble look of the Victorian rococo of the 1850s
and 1860s. The newer style was a more simplistic,
rectilinear style that was wide spread in the United States.
The focus was more on function than form.
Eastlake
furniture is characterized by plain, straightforward
rectangular construction with flat or low relief surface
decoration for practicality. The style was built on the
premise that "simplicity is the key to beauty."
The furniture has turned legs or spindle supports
contrasting with a squared-off furniture outline. Although
Eastlake style emphasized simplicity, not all ornamentation
was rejected. The use of relief carving, marquetry, or
veneer applied in recessed panels added richness to the
overall appearance. The simplistic designs were highlighted
by use of distinctively grained woods such as oak, walnut,
and mahogany that were oil rubbed or allowed to remain in
the natural state.
Eastlake
furniture of better quality was often given an ebonized
finish reminiscent of oriental lacquer. It was also
decorated with marquetry or tiles influenced by Japanese
styles. The oriental vogue remained fashionable throughout
the 1880s. Incorporation of cranes, butterflies, cherry
blossoms, fans, and chrysanthemums became a common detail.
By
the early 1870s furniture manufacture in the United States
dramatically increased. New innovations in furniture
production arose and the Eastlake style became a prime
target for mass production. The Americanized Eastlake-
influenced furniture only remotely related to the original
Eastlake. In many ways it was the anthesis of the original
concept. It utilized machine carved applied ornamentation
and unnecessary decorative details, changed the rectilinear
outlines, and used varnishes.
The
Encyclopedia of Furniture, Third Edition, Joseph
Aronson, Crown Publishers,
Inc. New York, 1965, 484 pp. ISBN: 0-517-03735-1
Prospecting
for Old Furniture, Don Marotta, Stackpole Books,
Harrisburg,
PA,
1985, 192 pp. ISBN: 0-8117-2187-7
The
Antiques Book of Victorian Interiors, Elizabeth
D. Garrett, Crown
Publishers,
Inc., New York, 159 pp. ISBN: 0-517-54563-2
Hints on Household Taste (Dover Edition), Charles Lock
Eastlake, Dover Publications,
Inc., New York,1969, 304 pp. ISBN: 0-486-25046-6
