Limbert Furniture
From 1889-1892, Charles Limbert and his partner, Phillip V. Klingman, operated Klingman and Limbert Co., sales agents for furniture manufactures located mainly in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From 1906-1922 Charles Limbert operated a furniture factory in Holland, Michigan.
Charles P. Limbert’s Limbert Furniture Company produced a popular and affordable line of furniture until 1922, when poor health forced him to sell his interest in the company. Although his designs were said to be derivative, and his quality not quite on par with Stickley, his moderately priced line of casegoods, tables, and seating were popular and successful.
Limbert’s designs were influence by the Glasgow School’s Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Mackintosh’s cut out squares are popular motifs in Limbert’s furniture, along with cut out hearts inspired by the predominantly Dutch workers employed in his Michigan factory. Limbert himself referred to his furniture as Dutch Arts and Crafts Style.
During the early years, the Limbert factory produced pieces in dark finishes much like Stickley’s highly popular fumed oak. From around 1908 to 1915, the Limbert Furniture Company produced pleasingly scaled furniture in tiger oak, typically in both medium and dark finishes. Today, the pieces in darker finishes are most sought after. Limbert Furniture Company pieces are almost always stamped with a company brand.
By p4A.com Contributing Editor Susan Cramer.