[A remarkable salesman sample photo archive of reed & rattan wicker furniture with 11 cabinet photographs by Spettel and Perkins, together with 25 sepia-tinted linen-backed photographs]; Together With: The Ford & Johnson Co. Fiber-Rush and Malacca furniture, 1907-1908; [The Wolverine Reed Company catalogue]; Fibre furniture, Blawnox 1923; Catalogue of books and materials for basket-making; Book of designs and materials for art-fibre weaving 1925-1926, Grand Rapids Fibre Cord Company; The ABC of reed work by Needlecraft Magazine. . . .

[North La Crosse, WI; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Blawnox, PA; Cambridge, MA; Grand Rapids, MI; Augusta, ME: A.F. Spettel, 806 Caledonia St.; Perkins, 125 South 4th Street for the North La Crosse Reed & Rattan Works, La Crosse Reed Furniture Works; Ford & Johnson Co.; Wolverine Reed Co.; Fibre Furniture; J.L. Hammett Co.; Grand Rapids Fibre Cord Company; Needlecraft Publishing Co., [1898-1929]. First -- 11 sepia-tinted cabinet photos (2 albumen, 9 photos of printed images), embossed photographer’s name at lower edge of cabinet card, a few w/ pencil & ink pricing & inventory information on backs (minor dustsoiling, edgewear); 2nd -- 25 original linen-backed photographs, some sepia-tinted, sized from 5 x 7 in. up to 6.5 x 8.5 in. (nearly all the larger size), nearly all w/ pencil & ink pricing annotations, furniture descriptions, and a few w/ La Crosse Reed Furniture Work stamp on verso (soiling, edgewear, some creasing, minor fraying); 3rd -- Oblong 8vo. 95, [1] pp., photo plates throughout, burgundy-coloured softcovers, gilt lettering stamped on front (chipping head & foot of spine, soiling, edgewear, wear to corners), preserving part of original mailing envelope dated 1910 to North La Crosse Reed & Rattan Works; 4th -- 8vo. 78 pp. Photo-illustrated throughout, w/o self-printed softcovers (some soiling, edgewear); 5th -- Oblong 8vo. [64 pp (unpaginated)], with photo illustrations throughout, beige printed softcovers, lettering in gray & black on front cover (soiling, edgewear, rubbing, wear to corners); 6th -- 8vo. 40 pp., photo plates & text illustrations, beige softcovers, printed in decorative red, black & orange on front cover (minor dustsoiling, edgewear, thumbing); 7th -- 4to. 48 pp. Photo-illustrated title, photo text illustrations throughout, decorative printed borders, Beige softcovers, yapp edges, Arts & Crafts cover art in gray, green, & brown on front cover, lettering in black, silver & red (minor shelfwear, rubbing), preserving original price list and order forms in rear; 8th -- 4to. 23, [1] pp. text and photo illustrations throughout, self-printed colour-illustrated softcovers (minor tear head of spine, edgewear, creasing), still G copy stapled as issued, all from the collection of Erma Wilson Multhauf of Cedar Falls, IA, and noted rattan furniture restorer who purchased the material from the La Crosse Reed Furniture Works when it went out of business after World War II. This amazing salesman sample photo archive for the North La Crosse Reed & Rattan Works, and the La Crosse Reed Furniture Works provide an indispensable visual record of reed and rattan wicker furniture produced and sold in Wisconsin during the Arts & Crafts era. Wicker furniture experienced a tremendous rise in popularity during the last decades of the 19th century, with many manufacturers producing items in Wisconsin, and other Midwest States, and the domestic reeds used by American manufacturers proved especially flexible, and were more capable of being painted or stained, while Rattan was harder to weave and could only be shellacked. The cabinet photos by Spettel and Perkins include images of high-backed fancy Victorian rockers, a foot stool, magazine rack, sewing basket, a Turkish chair, a round table, and several other wicker rocking chairs. Spettel (1866-1935) was brought into his brother Clement Spettel’s photography studio in 1886 because his business was so popular, and they would thrive in North La Crosse, WI until 1906, when Aloysius moved his business to North Dakota. The business location on 806 Caledonia was established by the brothers in 1888 and was initially called the New Gallery, then the National Art Studio, and sometime around 1897-98 it was simply A.F. Spettel, while Clement worked at 320 North 4th on the City’s south side. Of particular interest is the “Perkins” Studio Cabinet photo, as there is no known other example of a Perkins photographer at that location, although that studio location served eight other known photographers between 1888 and 1900. The collection of factory linen-backed photographs depict a wide variety of Victorian rattan furniture including wing-back chairs & rockers, stacking children’s stools, children’s high chair, rocker, sewing baskets, waste baskets, and more. Nearly all of them have inventory numbers and prices on verso, some individually priced, others priced by the dozen, ranging from $ 2.75 to $ 8.50. The Ford & Johnson Fiber-Rush and Malacca furniture catalogue includes a wide range of Mission-style and Arts & Crafts period furnishings, including tables, library tables, settees, rockers, and more. The Art Fibre Weaving catalogue not only includes excellent photographic images of wicker furniture, but also images of fibre art weaving classes, schools, and equipment. See: Edwin L. Hill, A History of Photography in La Crosse, Wisconsin 1853-1930, pp. 160-170, 175; Raether, Wisconsin Family Albums & Photographers’ Imprints and Biographies 1800s to early 1900s, pp. 315-316; George M. Brown, The White Directory of Manufactures of Furniture and Kindred Goods of the United States, pp. 20-21; Tracing the Trends of Wicker Furniture Through History, Patio Productions (2014).