Bellows
Bellows were once a common hearth tool in homes heated by fires. By pumping the handles, a burst of air could be blown through the narrow mouthpiece onto smoldering coals, reigniting a dying fire or helping a small blaze to take hold in the fuel. This bellows, purchased by George Booth from the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, adds artistry to an ordinary household object. The smooth maple panels, which make up its sides, are connected by pleated leather, secured with brass studs, while the mouth of the bellows is animated by a subtle sculptural element. Instead of a plain brass tube, the bellows’s mouth takes the shape of a slender snake, which “exhales” a gust of air, breathing new life into a fire.
Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
August 2024
Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (founded 1906)
Founded on June 26, 1906, the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts provided an environment where artists, craftsmen, architects, and designers could share ideas and coordinate activities to raise the level of American craftsmanship. Out of their showroom, works by major craftsmen active in Europe and America were exhibited and sold. George Booth was not only one of the founders of the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts, but also its first president.
The Society’s showroom operated from 1916, when it opened a new building on Watson Street in Detroit, until 1958, when the mission of the Society shifted toward design education (the Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts had been established in 1926). George Booth worked closely with the Society’s Secretary Helen Plumb sourcing objects for display and sale in the showroom; George Booth also filled his home, Cranbrook House, with items he purchased or commissioned for the showroom. Beyond George Booth, Ellen and the entire Booth family patronized the Society’s showroom for gifts and furnishings for their respective homes. The Booth family continued support of the Society well into the second half of the 20th century, as it reincorporated as the Center for Creative Studies - College of Art and Design (1975 to 2001) and later the College for Creative Studies (2001-present).
Kevin Adkisson
Curator
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
November 2021
Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
Height: 1 1/4 in (3.2 cm)
ProvenanceGeorge Bough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth (1920-1948)
George Gough Booth (1948-1949)
Cranbrook Foundation (1949-1973)
Cranbrook Educational Community (1973-present)
Credit LineCranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Cultural Properties Collection, Founders Collection
Bequest of George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth through the Cranbrook Foundation
Medium | MaterialsMaple wood, brass
GenreObject TypeBellows
Select Bibliography and Archival Citation(s)Appraisal by Manufacturers' Appraisal Company (1949). Series II: Appraisals and Inventories. George Gough and Ellen Warren Scripps Booth Financial Records (1981-02). Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Appraisal by Stalker & Boos (1975). Series II: Appraisals and Inventories. George Gough and Ellen Warren Scripps Booth Financial Records (1981-02). Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
