fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Movie Night Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

A sense of where you are

by Violet Snow
April 1, 2016
in Home
0
Andirons by Woodstock artist Eugenie Gershoy. (photo by Will Dendis)
Andirons by Woodstock artist Eugenie Gershoy. (photo by Will Dendis)

“That’s a New York State leg,” says Tom Luciano, proprietor of Time and Materials, one of Hudson’s many antique shops. We’re sitting in a cafe in Phoenicia, and he’s pointing across the room at a cobbled table, with shiny, apparently recent screws attaching 19th-century legs to a top that was probably made from an old barn door.

In cafes, antique shops, yard sales, and attics alike, Hudson Valley furniture embodies the area’s history, from the colonial Dutch period to the heyday of the Catskills hotels. With the housing market beginning to turn around, furniture prices are still low but about to climb, says Luciano, so it’s a good time to buy. And every piece contains a history lesson.

“This ‘pear’ turning relates to 17th- and 18th-century Dutch woodwork, often repeated in New York legs.” He indicates the smooth, ovoid shape, with narrow rings and rectangular blocks above and below, characteristic of New York craftsmanship. Each state had its own characteristic design. In New Hampshire, the entire leg was often carved, ending with a taper.

Next to the table is a bentwood chair with Art-Nouveau lines, a style common in Catskills hotels. Its frame has been painted a streaky orange, and the seat has been recovered in red. “Made in 1910 or 1920, either by Thonet or J. & J. Kohn, Austrian furniture makers,” says Luciano. “Probably bought at a yard sale. With a bit of resurfacing, this would be a beautiful piece.”

The Catskills still have plenty of memorabilia from the peak of the hotel era from 1850 to1950. Iron bedsteads, arts-and-crafts bungalow furniture, metal lawn chairs, and period fabrics have a nostalgic kick for baby boomers who visited the resorts in the 1960s, when the old furnishings were still in place.

Crafts from Woodstock

Overlapping with the hotel period, the Byrdcliffe arts colony begun in 1902, produced handcrafted furniture, pottery, textiles, prints, photography, and paintings, while establishing Woodstock’s identity as a haven for free-spirited creative people. Founded as a utopian community in reaction to the dehumanizing effects of industrialization, Byrdcliffe continues to serve artists. The products of its first half-century still filter through the region, often ending up in the hands of Jim Cox at James Cox Gallery in Willow, a few miles west of the Woodstock hamlet.

Cox holds up a turquoise pot made by Byrdcliffe artist Zulma Steele. “She called her line ‘Zedware’ and signed each piece with a ‘Z’.” He turns over the pot to show the letter etched in the bottom.

Page 1 of 4
12...4Next
Tags: Helpful Hintshome hudson valleyNew York State
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Joblessness and your health

Next Post

SUNY New Paltz theatre Arts Department veteran Paparone to retire

Violet Snow

Violet Snow wrote regularly for the Woodstock Times for 17 years and continues to contribute to Hudson Valley One. She has been published in the New York Times “Disunion” blog, Civil War Times, American Ancestors, Jewish Currents, and many other periodicals. An excerpt from her historical novel, To March or to Marry, has appeared in the feminist journal Minerva Rising. She lives in Phoenicia and is currently working with horses, living out her childhood dream.

Related Posts

How I used AI to plan and manage a garden
Food & Drink

How I used AI to plan and manage a garden

May 14, 2023
Playgrounds offer children more than just a place to play
Family

Playgrounds offer children more than just a place to play

May 14, 2023
New Paltz joins “refillery” trend to limit plastics
Community

We can all do our part to protect the environment

May 13, 2023
Diversity in the garden is a good thing
Home

Diversity in the garden is a good thing

May 13, 2023
Kingston’s stewards of history
Home

Kingston’s stewards of history

May 9, 2023
Celebrity designer Cathy Hobbs breaks ground for eco-friendly Highland Passive House
Environment

Celebrity designer Cathy Hobbs breaks ground for eco-friendly Highland Passive House

May 15, 2023
Next Post

SUNY New Paltz theatre Arts Department veteran Paparone to retire

Trending News

  • Kingston’s new tap room and beer garden was made for locals 4.3k views
  • Victim’s mother was assured by Kingston school officials that her son would be safe, notice of claim now entered against the district 2.1k views
  • Memorial Day 2023: Events in Ulster County this week 1.2k views
  • Annual Memorial Day ceremony and parade in Kingston May 29 1.1k views
  • Hudson Valley’s hottest art and craft fair returns this Memorial Day weekend 701 views
  • Pride reaffirmed in New Paltz 569 views

Weather

Kingston
◉
55°
Sunny
5:24 am8:23 pm EDT
Feels like: 55°F
Wind: 2mph SW
Humidity: 72%
Pressure: 30.23"Hg
UV index: 2
WedThuFri
84/50°F
90/59°F
93/61°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Movie Night Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing