Herter Brothers: Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age - Hardcover

Katherine S. Howe; Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen; Catherine Hoover Voorsanger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810934264 ISBN 13: 9780810934269

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 1994

Synopsis

In 1848, Gustave Herter arrived in America from Germany, fleeing political and economic chaos. His brother, Christian, joined him a decade later. By 1875 their firm, renamed Herter Brothers, was supplying the White House with furnishings, as it had been doing for some of America's wealthiest families since 1858. During this opulent period, Herter Brothers could claim to be the leading cabinetmaking and decorating firm in the country.
The Herter brothers' extraordinary accomplishment has never before been the subject of a book. Here, at last, is an in-depth study of these talented men, their company, and its work, prized then as now for its design, richness of materials and detail, superb craftsmanship, and splendid diversity. The best of the Herter Brothers' furniture and interiors are displayed in 133 color and 167 black-and-white illustrations, including many close-up details as well as comparative work by rival fine cabinetmakers of the time in New York and Europe.
Herter Brothers tells the story of the company from its earliest manifestations, when Gustave worked with other partners and alone, through his partnership with his brother, to Christian's years as head of the firm and the end of his tenure. The book places the company firmly in its context, international as well as domestic, with an extensive discussion of the brothers' background and influences and an absorbing narrative of the furniture and decoration trade in New York City in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Also described is the superb work done by the firm for their fabulously wealthy patrons - a who's who of the Gilded Age, including J. Pierpont Morgan, William H. Vanderbilt, and Jay Gould - for whom the Herters created some of their most lavish furniture and complete interiors. These commissions, many illustrated here, included woodwork, plasterwork, lighting fixtures, window treatments, wall and ceiling paintings, carpets, textiles, mosaics, stained glass, and decorative objects in addition to furniture.

About this title

From Library Journal:

Gustave Herter fled to America in 1848, followed by his brother, Christian, in 1859. By 1875 the furniture from the "Herter Brothers" shop was in great demand by America's wealthiest families, who were decorating in the opulent style that would give the era the name "Gilded Age." This first in-depth study of the unique style and creations of the Herters, who worked with exotic woods and ornate inlay combined with ebonizing and gilding, is published in conjunction with an exhibit that will tour Houston, Atlanta, and New York. Lavishly illustrated with 167 black-and-white photos of historic interiors and 133 color plates, including many close-ups of their detailed work, this volume clearly shows why the Herters were wooed for their furnishings by J.P. Morgan, Jay Gould, Theodore Roosevelt, and all the Vanderbilts. Fine supplementary reading for those who enjoyed the Wharton novel and Scorsese film The Age of Innocence; highly recommended.
Joseph Hewgley, Nash-ville P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Experts in the field of decorative arts contribute historically detailed essays to this fine book, serving as a catalogue for a recent exhibition that pays a long overdue tribute to the lavishly crafted furniture and art objects of Christian and Gustave Herter. If the Herter brothers' name is not as well known as such contemporary designers as William Morris, this book will be a fitting introduction to the exquisite work they produced. Many of the gilded, ornately carved, and marquetry-embellished cabinets, chairs, and tables pictured here adorned residences of prosperous patrons--J. P. Morgan, William Vanderbilt, and the White House, among others. In numerous color photographs and vintage images depicting entire interiors designed by their firm, this beautiful study gives duly merited attention to the Herter brothers' legacy. Alice Joyce

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0810934264
• ISBN 13: 9780810934269
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272