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Gustav Stickley Spindle Bed, #717, C1910; 49.5"h x 79.5"l x 45.5"w.
Photo courtesy of Treadway Toomey Auctions.
The spindle bed and the remainder of the spindle line, including a matching crib, were manufactured between 1905 and 1910. In order to keep costs down during this difficult time in the company's history, furniture was made with thinner wood and fewer cuts. The head and footboard spindles are mortised into the rails. A mortise refers to the socket in the rail where the tenon sits. Although glue was occasionally used to further attach the tenons, the pressure of the rails keeps the vertical bars in place even in the absence of glue.The design was not hugely popular, so only a few beds exist in the market.
Price Range: $1200 - $4000
Gustav Stickley Bed, #923, C1905; 48.5"h x 78"l x 56.5"w.
Photo courtesy of Treadway Toomey Auctions.
This ubiquitous Gustav Stickley bed was made from 1904 through the end of the company's production as part of the Harvey Ellis bedroom suite. The set also included dressers, mirror-topped tables, and a cheval mirror. Stickley used similar features in the design of their accompanying dining room suite. The bed has tapered posts and rails that are softly bent on top of the head and footboard. The posts are distinguished by a pyramidal top, the design of which varied according to the production period and the preferences of the specific workers. A less common variation of this bed has a solid wooden panel on the head and foot boards rather than slats.
Price Range: $1500 - $6500
Rare Gustav Stickley Bed, 1902-04; 56"h x 81"l x 46"w.
Photo courtesy of Treadway Toomey Auctions.
Due to the rarity of this bed which was only produced between 1902 and 1904, we could only locate one image depicting it in the three-quarter size. We can assume that this design is a collaboration between Harvey Ellis and Henry Wilkinson because there are original Ellis’ line drawings of the form that features Wilkinson characteristic style corbels.The corbels can be seen in the image above, if you examine the upside down triangular slat joining the top rail of the head and footboard to the posts. In addition to the example above, the bed could come with classic Ellis inlay on the vertical slats composed of copper, pewter and fruit woods. In this early iteration of the Stickley bed the posts are higher and the arches are more pronounced than later pieces. The “better” bed is the simplified version of this bed. The trend of earlier pieces with more labor intensive design features positively correlating with desirability can be applied to most Stickley forms.
Price Range: $2000 - $15000
Early Gustav Stickley Bed, 1901-02.
Volume 5, August 1902 Craftsman Magazine.
The quality of material, simplicity and strength of design set the exceptional bed apart. Only a few examples exist today owing to being an early design and the expense of construction. In general, the wooden components of the form are considerably thicker than other models. The narrowly spaced slats make the bed feel more compact emphasizing the solid nature of the oak material. Some versions of the beds have round exposed pegs similar to those found on the knockdown daybeds and settles. These pegs allow large pieces of furniture to easily be deconstructed.The bed utilizes an inverted-v on the head and footboard making the bed appear more vertical than slightly later examples without the inverted v feature. Those without the inverted v become less elegant making them a little less desirable. However any model of this early bed is incredibly exciting for the advanced collector.
Price Range: $5000 - $25000