Lifetime Furniture
The “Lifetime furniture company” was formed 1911 as a merger of the Grand Rapids Bookcase Co. and Barker Brothers Chair Co. and named the Grand Rapids Bookcase & Chair Co. It operated continuously until 1956 when it was merged into the John Widdicomb Company. It was subsequently purchased by Medallion Ltd. and operated as Hastings Corporation and closed for good in 1975.
The company is best known for its mission style furniture trademarked in 1911 as “Lifetime Cloister.” These pieces resembled those designed by Harvey Ellis for Gustav Stickley but lack the delicacy of the Stickley designs and are generally heavier and more rectilinear. Typical Lifetime Cloister pieces are unadorned with massive, straight lines, occasionally broken by arched front rails. Joints are mortise-and-tenon and finishes are mostly fumed oak.
In 1913, the “Lifetime Jacobean” line was introduced with changes to the stiles and legs of the “Lifetime Cloister” design. “Lifetime Furniture” was introduced which slenderized while retaining the “cloister” designs but incorporated slight arches and attenuating curved brackets.
The company’s entire line was marketed using images of Monks and Southwestern Mission Churches in its catalog. The furniture was marked with a black and white “Lifetime Furniture” label for several decades, which trademark is better known to collectors of Arts and Crafts Mission Furniture than the underlying name of the company it represents.
By Paul H. Lauer, New England p4A.com representative