In the second edition of "99 Years And Counting - Part Two" we ended with the European styled collections such as The French Collection, San Marion Collection and Suzanne Kasler Collection. The next milestone for Hickory Chair was to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the James River Collection! This great achievement solidified Hickory Chair's reputation for classic furniture as the James River Collection became the longest continuously made furniture collection in the industry. It is even harder to imagine that this collection will celebrate 70 years in 2011! It is the great proportion and scale of the pieces with their timeless form that have allowed the collection to remain viable in an ever-changing world. We have numerous pieces that have been continuously made since the 1930's! The best part is that the pieces that have been made all these years were made as tomorrow's heirlooms - they are still in people's homes, on eBay, Craig's List, antique shops and can mix with the new pieces we make to order today!
Hickory Chair turned to the Winterthur Museum in April 1999 to introduce its Winterthur Country Estate Collection. This museum houses the world's largest collection of American furniture and decorative arts. In H.F. DuPont's lifetime he transformed his country home to a 275 room museum with rooms from every major city that contributed to American design. There are rooms devoted to Rhode Island cabinetmakers such as the Townsend's and Goddard's from the 18th Century, to Boston cabinetmaker's such as the Seymour's, to Philadelphia cabinetmakers such as Aitken as well as Shaker, Pennsylvania Dutch, and more. Each room is furnished as if it were new with every detail considered from the candles to furniture. We have the license to almost all of the pieces at Winterthur.
Watch for our next post as we launch the Thomas O'Brien Collection at the fall 1999 market. Can you believe that the Thomas O'Brien is celebrating its 10th Anniversary!

