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Posted 5 months ago
CallMeWeeze
(1 item)
Karpen "Guaranteed Construction" Furniture
My grandmother recently asked me to help her sell a few antique furnishings, one of which is this lovely tiger-striped hardwood table made by Karpen Furniture.* It was given to her by a family friend about 20 years ago who I believe to be the original owner. I know this family friend lived in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles around 1935, and suspect that is where the table was purchased. But I am not positive about that.
Any details on the time period, style and/or significance of this piece would be much appreciated.
*Karpen Furniture, Chicago. 1880-1952. Solomon Karpen, founder. (S. Karpen & Bros., Karpen Brothers). This Prussian-born cabinetmaker rose to become one of the leading furniture manufacturers in the United States, bringing all eight of his brothers into the business. They expanded into New York and California, selling every type and style of furniture, including Arts & Crafts.
TablesTables are sometimes treated like the poor cousins to chairs, which have ca…
The gothic style here is mesmerizing, what furniture I have seen from them is all brilliant. They made reproduction style furniture like no others, this maker really deserves further study !~Phil.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=karpen+furniture&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=plXlUK7mBoXD2QWijIHQAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFgQsAQ&biw=1120&bih=602
It really looks like 1920's - 1930 when in Hollywood this type of furniture was used very much by decorators. You should have no trouble selling a piece by them, and I see their furniture goes for high prices at a lot of the auctions, particularly the pieces with detailed carved lions heads.
Thank you, PhilDavidAlexanderMorris! I reached out to the grand-daughter of the Solomon Karpen via email yesterday, who is an expert on the history of the Karpen Furniture company. Based on the type of tag and background I provided, she was able to confirm that the piece was made between 1927-1933, and most likely came from their Los Angeles factory which the company acquired in 1927.
CallMeWeeze,
I have an amazing Karpen chair I would like to get more info on. Could you share the e-mail contact for the grand-daughter please?