John Stuart Secretaires
Grand Rapids, Michigan, was once known as “Furniture City” for its local mass-production industry that flourished from the mid-19th century into the early 20th century, led by furniture manufacturers like John Stuart. Stuart’s eponymous company, which would build showrooms in New York and Philadelphia, designed and sold elegant reproductions of various furniture styles, including 18th-century French and English furniture as well as what we now call mid-century modern home furnishings built by European craftsmen in the entrepreneur’s Grand Rapids factory.
In 1845, a British cabinetmaker named George Widdicomb arrived in New York before moving to Grand Rapids. There he set up a small cabinet shop in 1857 with a dozen craftsmen, including his son John Widdicomb. The store quickly found success due to Widdicomb’s English training and the dearth of other quality furniture makers in the region. Toward the end of the 19th century, Grand Rapids had earned an international reputation as a leader of American furniture manufacturing, and while the Widdicomb family would navigate some difficulty after the Civil War, they emerged anew as Widdicomb Brothers and Richards, and then the Widdicomb Furniture Company. Widdicomb’s son started his own company in 1897, the John Widdicomb Company, and in 1929, the Grand Rapids–born John Stuart joined the company as a director.
Stuart, who had been in the furniture industry since 1913, was named president of John Widdicomb Company in the early 1940s and by then had formed John Stuart, Inc., with partner Herbert M. Rothschild. John Stuart, Inc.’s offerings included oak buffets and other dining-room furnishings crafted in the Tudor and Elizabethan styles, with cabinet doors and drawer fronts characterized by meticulously carved natural-world motifs and other decorative flourishes. Stuart also oversaw the design of reproductions of sophisticated walnut and mahogany Queen Anne side tables and dining chairs, with the latter marked by pronounced, vase-shaped curves in the back splats and cabriole legs. In 1952, the manufacturer and distributor’s founder sold the business, including the right to trade under his name, to the John Widdicomb Company.
Find a wide variety of vintage John Stuart furniture on 1stDibs.
1970s American Modern Vintage John Stuart Secretaires
Chrome
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage John Stuart Secretaires
Wood
Late 20th Century American Chinoiserie John Stuart Secretaires
Brass
Mid-20th Century English Chinese Chippendale John Stuart Secretaires
Pine
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage John Stuart Secretaires
Pine, Ash
1960s American Georgian Vintage John Stuart Secretaires
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern John Stuart Secretaires
Chrome
1950s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage John Stuart Secretaires
Sycamore, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern John Stuart Secretaires
Teak
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern John Stuart Secretaires
Ash, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Country Antique John Stuart Secretaires
Pine, Paint
2010s French John Stuart Secretaires
Leather, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Swedish Rustic Antique John Stuart Secretaires
Pine, Paint
20th Century English Campaign John Stuart Secretaires
Brass
