Highlights Archives
Wisconsin-Made Marquetry Furniture on Display
The Wisconsin Historical Museum on Capitol Square in Madison is pleased to announce a new case display, "Piece by Piece: the Wooden Creations of a Wisconsin Craftsman." The display opens September 27, 2005, and will remain on view through October 22, 2005.
August Schlaak (1869-1946) turned his passion for wood into a career. He worked in a wood-planing mill, then in 1918 joined the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, as a cabinetmaker in the wood-gluing department. In his spare time over the years he created a number of curious wooden artifacts and mastered a specific type of cabinet making called marquetry. In marquetry, different types of wood pieces are joined together with glue into blocks. The blocks are sliced into thin cross sections of veneer, producing complex patterns. The segments are then applied to exterior surfaces, forming a clean but intricate appearance. Three of August Schlaak's marquetry pieces are on display in "Piece by Piece." These include a pedestal table and magazine rack made around 1935.
The most intriguing of August Schlaak's creations is the combination writing and dressing table on display in "Piece by Piece." The faux drop leaves at each side are affixed, not hinged. All exterior surfaces are covered with geometric patterns of marquetry. The primary design elements are a faux table scarf and a border of faux three-dimensional cubes running across the tabletop and down each of the leaves. Schlaak incorporated thousands of pieces of wood from 25 different species, including birch, cherry, gum, Japanese dyewood, mahogany, maple, pecan, persimmon, and walnut. It took Schlaak seven years (1923-1930) to complete the table using scraps for the marquetry and his own formula for the finish. He did not work from formal drawings or other reference materials. The table was featured in an article in The Furniture Manufacturer in May 1930. Schlaak gave the table as a Christmas present to his daughter, Ruth Fae Schlaak Cutler (1915-1994), at about the time she was 14. Before he gave it, Schlaak counted and recorded the number of pieces. He then challenged Ruth to count them as a way to keep her busy while she was at home recovering from spinal meningitis. He wrote the number of pieces on the underside of one of the drawers. Exactly 17,625 pieces make up the table's veneer decoration.
Another item on display is an intriguing lamp made by Schlaak around 1935. It is in the form of a bowling pin and balls, perhaps inspired by the Forest Products Laboratory's efforts to produce better quality wooden bowling pins. The lamp's rounded surfaces do not allow for marquetry application, so Schlaak inlaid cross sections of actual butternuts for decoration.
"Piece by Piece" also features a 110-foot-long wooden chain that August Schlaak made for his daughter Ruth's wedding to Francis L. Cutler on June 22, 1937. His woodworking skill is evident in that there is no trace of the joint needed to connect any two of the separately machined wooden links.
The objects in "Piece by Piece" were provided to the Wisconsin Historical Museum through the generosity of Francis L. Cutler and Elizabeth Dolgner.
The Wisconsin Historical Museum is located on Capitol Square at 30 N Carroll Street, Madison. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is by donation: $4 adults, $3 children under 18, $10 family. Call 608-264-6555 for more information.
:: Posted September 29, 2005
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