Stickley Drop Leaf Side Table

Gustav Stickley was one of the principal figures in the American Arts and Crafts movement and the creator of the Craftsman style. In 1883, Stickley established a furniture company called Stickley Brothers with two of his brothers, Albert and Charles. Gustav’s other siblings, Leopold and John George, would later form L & J.G. Stickley Inc. in Fayetteville, New York, in 1905.

As a furniture designer and publisher of the magazine The Craftsman, Gustav adopted many of the ideals of the British design reform movement and popularized both its philosophy and its aesthetics in the United States.

Born in Wisconsin, Stickley moved with his family to Pennsylvania when he was a teenager and began working in his uncle’s chair factory in the town of Brandt. There, he learned the techniques of late-19th-century furniture making at a time when the vogue was for Victorian revival furniture, which was characterized by extensive ornamentation.

When Stickley Brothers foundered, Gustav partnered five years later with salesman Elgin Simonds to form a new firm, Stickley & Simonds, which produced traditional furniture that appealed to the burgeoning American middle class. The success of this venture enabled Stickley to travel to Europe, where he discovered the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris, the two preeminent thinkers of the British Arts and Crafts movement. Stickley also traveled to France, where the Art Nouveau movement impressed him with its imaginative designs and skilled craftsmanship.

Stickley parted ways with Simonds at the turn of the 20th century and decided to focus his creative energies on producing furniture in what became known as the Craftsman style, incorporating some of the elements of the designs and movements he had encountered in Europe.

The pieces Stickley created, which he stamped with the logo of a joiner’s compass, were rectilinear, largely free of ornament, made of oak, and built in such a way that the nature of their construction was plainly visible — all reflections of the tenets of the Arts and Crafts movement. While some people referred to Stickley’s furniture as Mission furniture — a term that references the furnishings of the Spanish missions in California — Gustav commonly called his work “Craftsman” owing to the inspiration he found in the British Arts and Crafts movement.

Stickley benches and rocking chairs were popular, and his leather-upholstered armchairs combine practicality, comfort and an understated silhouette. In 1901, Stickley launched The Craftsman magazine, which contained articles on all manner of domestic topics, from gardening and cooking to art and design, as well as poetry and fiction. In addition to popularizing Stickely’s own designs, the magazine acquainted Americans with the Arts and Crafts style in all its forms through its graphic design and the bungalows, art pottery, and hammered-copper lamps pictured in its pages. When Gustav Stickley died, in 1942, Arts and Crafts had been replaced by modernism as the favored aesthetic.

The work of L & J.G. Stickley flourished even as the Arts and Crafts style fell out of fashion because Leopold and John George adapted to the changing times.

L & J.G. Stickley changed their brand name and maker’s mark to Handcraft in 1906, and rather than continue to produce Arts & Crafts-inspired designs, their bedroom furnishings, dining room chairs and other items of the era reflected the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School style as well as the work of the Wiener Werkstätte. Later, Leopold’s Cherry Valley collection appealed to enthusiasts of American Colonial furniture. 

Find antique L & J.G. Stickley tables, seating, case pieces and more on 1stDibs.

While the range of styles and variety of materials have broadened over time, the priceless functionality of side tables has held true.

Antique and vintage side tables are an integral accent to our seating and provide additional, necessary storage in our homes. They can be a great foundation for that perfect focal piece of art that you want all your guests to see as you congregate for cocktails in the living room. Side tables are indeed ideal as a stage for your decorative objects or plants in your library or your study, and they are a practical space for the novel or stack of design magazines you keep close to your sofa.

Sure, owning a pair of side tables isn’t as imperative as having a coffee table in the common area, though most of us would struggle without them. Those made of metal, stone or wood are frequently featured in stylish interiors, and if you’re shopping for side tables, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

With respect to the height of your side tables, a table that is as high as your lounge chair or the arm of your couch is best.

Some folks are understandably fussy about coherence in a living room area, but coherence doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t mix and match. Feel free to introduce minimalist mid-century modern wooden side tables designed by Paul McCobb alongside your contemporary metal coffee table. If you think it isn’t possible to pair a Hollywood Regency–style side table with a contemporary sofa, we’re here to tell you that it is. Even a leggy side table can balance a chunky sofa well. Try to keep a limited color palette in mind if you’re planning on mixing furniture styles and materials, and don’t be afraid to add a piece of abstract art to shake things up.

As far as the objects you’re planning to place on your side tables, if you have heavy items such as stone or sculptures to display, a fragile glass-top table would not be an ideal choice. Think about what material would best support your collectibles and go with that. If it’s a particularly small side table, along with a tall, sleek floor lamp, it can make for a great way to fill a corner of the room you wouldn’t otherwise easily be able to populate.

Whether you are looking for an antique 19th-century carved oak side table or a vintage rattan side table (because rattan never went away!), the collection on 1stDibs has you covered —  find Art Deco side tables, bamboo side tables, travertine side tables and more today.