Table for Cranbrook House Library

George Booth purchased the table from Edward F. Caldwell & Co. in 1918, to furnish his magnificent new library at Cranbrook House. Though primarily remembered for their lighting design work, which indeed made up the bulk of their commissions for Cranbrook House, Caldwell & Co. maintained a robust sideline in furniture, specializing in imitations of historical styles, such as this table, which mimics the elaborate pieces popular in the late Italian Renaissance.

The four pearwood legs of this ornate table are decorated with curling leaves, dangling fruit garlands, and the winged heads of cherubim. Its top is inlaid in pale gold boxwood with stylized botanical forms, which stand out against the deeper, warmer tones of the walnut wood.

Edward F. Caldwell & Co. (1895-1959)

Edward F. Caldwell & Co. was one of America’s most prominent lighting and furnishing firms in the early twentieth century. They played a leading role in the transition from designing lights for gas, oil, or candle flames to electricity. For their clientele, which included many of the wealthiest individuals and institutions in America, they offered an extensive catalog of thousands of designs for chandeliers, wall sconces, table, and floor lamps, in styles ranging from medieval revival to the cutting edge of Art Deco modernism.

Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
July 2024