DESIGN
LCS is not the Brothers Stickley, Limbert, or other high profile makers, but they did take some of the best elements of those manufacturers and came up with some incredibly unique and delightful designs. As compared to furniture made at other associated companies, i.e., Wisconsin Chair Company, Northern Couch Company, Wisconsin Cabinet and Panel Company, Northern Chair Company, and several other companies (caning, phonographs) to name a few, Michael Hatfield of the Michigan Antique Phonograph Society puts forth that “the finest most sublime and aesthetically detailed craftsmanship came from Sheboygan’s Lakeside Craft Shops”. I suspect that this may also be a reflection of the clean and utilitarian Arts and Crafts designs compared to the busier Victorian designs still being produced at the time.

Many LCS pieces are definitely unique with nothing to compare to. These include a great many of the cabinet pieces, the cellarettes and smoking stands, and combinations thereof. However, there are a few pieces that are more or less direct rips from some of the more high profile companies. For example, the G128 bench, which comes in two different versions, is almost a direct copy of the very popular Limbert 243½ bench. Similarly, the LCS G104 Rocker Footstool very loosely copies Rohlff’s version. There are also a number of other footstools and waste baskets whose designs were likely borrowed from the higher profile Arts and Crafts manufacturers. What other examples are out there?

Re the G128 bench pictured in the 1912 LCS catalogue, this version is highly figured quarter-sawn wood and with lower square cut-outs – the one version I’ve found online is exactly like the one pictured – and this emulates the Limbert 243½ bench. However, there is one other apparently more common version that employs a single horizontal stretcher instead of the square cut-outs. I’ve seen three of the latter version compared to one of the other and none are marked.

Brass Hardware
A good portion of LCS cabinet pieces came with brass strap hinges and locksets. The hinges came in two styles, one smaller arrow-shaped set and another larger more squared set with a square cutout. Many pieces appear to have been hammered together with round-headed brass screws of at least two sizes. See the notes on my C20 combination cellarette and smoker’s cabinet for more details. The LCS seemed to stray away from knobs for most pieces but pyramidal wood knobs (S21 smoker’s cabinet), round brass knobs (some small smoker’s stands) and some pyramidal brass knobs have been seen on some pieces at auction.

Art Glass
No less than 13 pieces in the 1912 LCS catalogue employ leaded art glass. Most of these are cellarettes, smoker’s stands, or combinations thereof, plus. The usual colour of the art glass appears to be swirls of greens, whites, with an element of brown. However, I have seen at least one cabinet piece with alternating white and black panes.

Medallions
LCS seemed to produce quite a few pieces with coloured wood inserts or medallions, usually with interlocking pieces of wood dyes red, orange, and yellow. The shapes are relatively simple, almost crest-like, although the ones in the catalogues appear more complicated (I’ve never seen a catalogue example). In the LCS 1912 catalogue these are all relegated to bookends and desktop bookracks in mahogany. But as mentioned elsewhere in this article, I’ve never seen an LCS piece in mahogany. That said, many upright book stands and music stands, sewing stands, etc., marked and unmarked, seem to have these medallions.

Finish
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Fumed Oak, Early English,
Dull Golden, Solid Mahogany

Most LCS pieces appear to have come in the oak. The only mahogany pieces I have seen have been book cases or bookracks. Additionally, LCS pieces in quartered oak seems to come is at least three different tones: Honey, Red-Brown, and Darker Red-Brown (my descriptions). See the image of the three cellarettes  below:

IMAGE

Most pieces appear to have the Red-Brown tone, as the two pieces that I’ve posted show. And although the description indicated Fumed Oak, does anyone wonder if these pieces were really fumed oak? My guess would be not – too time consuming, expensive, and dangerous compared to a good stain job. That said, the finishes on the two pieces I own appear to be quite durable and have wonderful depth, changing with the light and individual boards. See comparison images

LCS Designers
Where did the LCS designs originate? Some, like the LCS G128 bench were obviously from Limbert. Some of the cabinets have an element of English (i.e., Medieval) Arts and Crafts pieces (e.g., chamfered boards and large strap hinges). While we may never know for certain there’s a good chance that William H. Thommen was a driving force behind the designs. William married Fred Dennett’s cousin and was a chair designer for the Wisconsin Chair Company (Dennett’s flagship operation which likely produced some LCS pieces before the company was incorporated). He was born in Switzerland, educated in Munich and Paris, practiced as a designer in Grand Rapids (i.e., the mecca where Stickley Bros, Limbert, Grand Rapids Chair, Michigan Chair, etc., plied their trade) – William very likely had a keen awareness for the European and American Arts and Crafts designs.