Trees and the Rustic Furniture They Become, Part I

Makers of rustic furniture in the late 1800s through the early 1900s typically used wood native to their local region as the raw material for their creations. Since the distribution of North American trees changes with climatic conditions from east to west and north to south, so, too, does traditional rustic furniture change in materials, and thus in form and style, along geographic gradients.

This article describes five species of trees commonly used during the original eras of rustic furniture making, and shows examples of furniture pieces that were made from each type of tree in the regions where it grows. Part II will continue this theme by describing five different species of trees and the furniture made from them.

White Birch (Betula papyrifera) (photo - jeffpippen.com)

White birch is an early successional species, meaning that it is among the first trees to colonize open spaces where forests have burned or woodlots have been cut over, where there is plenty of direct sunlight to support their rapid growth. It is a distinctive species that stands out in a crowd, so is familiar to most anyone who walks in the woods or drives along country roads in the northern tier of North America.

The stark, papery bark of white birch is an iconic emblem of rustic furniture; it is indeed hard to think of a piece of furniture made with bark-on white birch that would not be considered rustic. In the circa 1905 secretary pictured below, the craftsman Ernest Stowe used just the bark of white birch laid over a case of milled pine boards to clad the exterior of this exquisite case piece. Stowe gathered materials for his furniture in the Saranac Lake region of New York's Adirondacks where he lived and worked. The legs and trim of the secretary, as well as the entire chair, are done in bark-on yellow birch poles and rods. Stowe was thus a progenitor of what we now regard as Adirondack-style furniture using these two species of wood.

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) (photo - jeffpippen.com)

In contrast to white birch, yellow birch is found in mature hardwood forests. Since it, too, gets established where there is abundant sunlight, it tends to grow in gaps created by fallen, wind-thrown trees. It grows most commonly in mid- to upper-mountain slopes, but occurs patchier at lower elevations. Yellow birch can live for hundreds of years, so in the right locations it is not unusual to see very large, old trees and its younger saplings with golden bark scattered among other hardwoods such as sugar maple and beech.

The circa 1920 table picture below was made by Lee Fountain, a craftsman who worked in the western Adirondacks near the town of Wells. He is most recognized for his use of yellow birch root masses, which forms the base of this table. Whereas Stowe used the golden patina of yellow birch twigs and branches to great decorative effect, Fountain's furniture emphasized the sculptural drama of roots that had been gnarled and shaped over rocks and other tree roots, or simply spread like props to support the trunk and upper branches of a 60'-70' tall tree.

Yellow birch roots growing over a rock in the Adirondacks (nationalgeographic.com)

Hickory (Carya tomentosa) (photo - jeffpippen.com)

There are about a dozen species of hickory trees native to North America, including shagbark, shellbark, mockernut, pignut, bitternut and pecan. Although the bark varies among the different hickories, the mockernut hickory, which is the most abundant of the hickory species, has dark ridges alternating with lighter veins of bark (shown above). It grows in humid environments that receive 20-35 inches of rain from April-September, and is more of a southern and midwestern species than are birches.

Hickory is prized for furniture making because of is strength, hardness and flexibility. Although it is possible to find antique rustic furniture made from hickory by independent craftsmen who created their own designs, the vast majority of hickory furniture in the rustic antiques market was made by a half-dozen or so commercial furniture companies in Indiana beginning at the turn of the 20th century. Hickory formed the major structural elements of seating, tables and case pieces in manufactured hickory furniture, with milled woods such as oak and pine used on table, desk and dresser tops, arm rests and seats. In the uncommon circa 1930s wardrobe made by Rustic Hickory Furniture Company of LaPorte, Indiana pictured below, hickory poles comprise the frame and trim, while oak veneer and pine comprise the panels.

Rustic Hickory Furniture Company wardrobe

Sassafras (Sassafrasalbidum) (photo - jeffpippen.com)

The character of sassafras bark changes with age. Young branches have smooth, orange-tinged bark, whereas the bark of older trunks and branches is thick and furrowed with a reddish-brown tinge. Sassafras favors moist, light soil, and is common within its range in open woods, fields and fence rows. Its range is similar to that of hickory species, but it grows largest in wetter, warmer southern regions.

Lifting one settee made from sassafras and one made from hickory makes it immediately clear that sassafras is a much lighter, less dense wood. The frame of the circa 1920 settee pictured here is made entirely from natural-form sassafras branches, with the seat slats made from pine. In contrast to the settee's design which highlights sinuous sassafras branches, the design of the small sassafras stand beneath it emphasizes the appealing color and texture of young sassafras twigs. Both of these pieces were made in Pennsylvania, which is the source of the majority of sassafras furniture we've handled.

Softwoods: Pine and Cedar (Pinus strobus and Thuja occidentalis) (photo beautifulwildgarden.com)

The grand white pine was arguably the most valuable forest species that allowed the young nation of America to develop and prosper. Prior to its extensive logging from the 18th through the early 20th centuries, vasts forests of pine covered much of the northeast where it grew well in cool temperatures and well-drained soils.

While white pine has always been a valuable lumber species, it has also been used in unmilled form to make distinctive rustic furniture. Although slabs of bark-on pine were sometimes used in furniture making, rustic furniture with pine exteriors more typically incorporated peeled, whole branches. A good example of this type of furniture is the circa 1920 desk pictured below. It was made by Habitant Furniture Company of Bay City, Michigan which produced a wide range of simple knotty pine furniture emulating a primitive or pioneer aesthetic.

Although also an evergreen species prized for the quality of its rot-resistant wood, eastern white cedar is a much smaller tree at maturity than eastern white pine. It typically grows in low-lying, moist and cool environments, often in thick stands. It has thin, furrowed, reddish-brown bark.

The most common rustic cedar furniture on the market today was made by Rittenhouse furniture company of Cheboygan, Michigan. As seen in the circa 1940 drop-leaf Rittenhouse table below, the cedar pole components were peeled rather than left with their bark intact.

In contrast, the cedar poles used for the frame and trim on the circa 1910 rustic table pictured below retain their bark. This table was made in the Adirondacks by Ernest Stowe, and although it does incorporate white birch cladding, it is a style of furniture not as commonly associated with this master craftsman.

rustic Adirondack table made by Ernest Stowe

Coming Full Circle

It is rewarding to recognize individual species of trees in their natural habitats while roaming one's local woods and roadways, and then to see how those species have been transformed into a variety of rustic furniture. The five species described here are the celebrities of the antique rustic furniture world. Our next article will present some of their slightly more obscure colleagues.