Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture: Instructions and Plans for 62 Projects

by Gustav Stickley

Rejecting the "badly constructed, over-ornate, meaningless" furniture of the late Victorian period, architect, furniture designer and manufacturer Gustav Stickley developed a radical new design concept that stressed careful workmanship, simplicity, and utility. His important monthly magazine The Craftsman (1901–16) published construction plans for his distinctly American furniture.
The 62 simple, straightforward projects reprinted here — exquisite examples of Stickley's classic designs — first appeared in The Craftsman between 1903 and 1907. Included are projects large and small enough to satisfy the household needs and creative urges of any woodworker. Make authentic reproductions of handsome, functional, sturdy Craftsman home furnishings from bookcases to bedsteads, dressers to dining tables, a hall tree, a foot rest, a wood-box and more — future family heirlooms that will stand the test of time both in durability and in clean, elegant purity of line. Each project includes Stickley's original information for woodworkers of the early 1900 a perspective drawing of the completed piece; a brief description of the item with suggestions for appropriate choices of wood; a "mill bill" giving complete lumber specifications; and schematic drawings showing both front and side views with accurate measurements.
All woodworkers, even beginners, will delight in this collection of genuine Stickley plans for 62 of the finest, most desirable pieces of Craftsman or "mission-style" furniture. Antique collectors, furniture restorers, and historians of American style also will appreciate the detailed information on an influential design movement enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

Genres: Woodwork, Nonfiction, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are plenty of projects in here for lovers of Arts and Crafts design furniture. However, Gus Stickley's plans are a bit sketchy. I suppose it does make the would-be maker look at at the Stickley designs and general dimensions and incorporate them into new designs. Makers who want the definitive "Recipe Book" for Arts and Craft Furniture should look elswhere.

[Koen Crolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of some of the ugliest furniture Stickley has ever produced, plus a handful of decent pieces. It's not even the kind of ugly where you console yourself with the solidity of the construction, like with e.g. Shaker furniture—bad joinery and frankly bizarre design decisions abound.
Despite Stickley's claims to the contrary, the plans included are usually probably too terse for beginners (certainly in 2018, probably in 1903 as well), and more than once flatly inadequate for anyone (good luck replicating the corner china cabinet). Apart from the plans and the drawing of the finished product, no techniques to construction are ever explained, which may prove problematic for some of the more monstrous entries, and certainly for anyone who doesn't already know how Stickley's drawers work.
There are some genuinely nice pieces here, and some not-so-nice ones that look fun to build, but the most interesting part of this book for me was Stickley's use of what he calls ``table irons''—figure-8 table top fasteners I presumed a much more recent invention.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawings are pulled right from "The Craftsman" magazine. No commentary, elaboration or instructions are provided beyond what was originally published. If you're looking for step by step instructions, move on. If you want to study plans from the time period, this will be worth your while.

[Christopher Hachet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the designs are less commonly seen, decent working drawings. Found this helpful as I enjoy building mission style furniture.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are Stickley Arts and Crafts furniture plans from the Craftsman magazine. I find them a bit boxy on the average but they are reasonably sized unlike modern furniture designed to look good in McMansions. There were many designers of such furniture, I'm partial to the more fluid Greene and Greene furniture which borrows from Chinese furniture with it's cloud lifts and the like. A good reference that's inexpensive, though you can probably find the original magazine online, it's long out of copyright.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous designs, though more than a little sparse when it comes to the actual instructions.

[Stanley Bershinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

Pretty good walkthrough of each piece and great measurements make this an easy to use manual for pretty much anyone.

[Gabriel Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd remove the "instructions" part from the title. You won't find any. However, the historic value of what the book presents is amazing.