CANADIAN QUARTER-SAWN OAK FURNITURE

In the 1980’s, my wife inherited the most amazing dining room set constructed of quarter-sawn oak. It had been purchased in 1906 by her great grandfather Carl Beny, who owned the general store in Irvine, Alberta. At the time one could order almost anything by catalog, including a complete house.
The set was huge: table with 6 leaves, 8 chairs (a “mommy” and “daddy chair”, caned backs and original leather seats), large glass-fronted china cabinet, a side bureau with a mirror, a small side table, a rocking chair, and a coat rack. Most of the legs had a barleycorn twist style.
I did not appreciate the antique value of the set. The grain was almost totally obscured by dark finishes and years of active use. I stripped it all and then used Watco Danish Oil in black walnut to finish. I thought it was beautiful with all the grain and medullary rays completely exposed. But it had lost most of its antique value.

In 2010, I had my first apartment and the opportunity to furnish it in my style. I have since accumulated many pieces of quarter-sawn oak furniture, almost all Canadian-made. The grain is also called tiger oak and the boards with the best grain are combined into the pieces of furniture with the best construction – decorative cuts, solid wood skirts and drawer fronts. Most I refinish to expose the grain. The drawers are all joined with mortice and tenon joints and are of solid wood.

The Comox Valley has a wealth of quarter-sawn Canadian furniture. I visit two local antique stores regularly. In 2020, I added several pieces, most of world-class construction. All of a sudden, I became a collector and have now reached the saturation point of my 1.035 ft² apartment. I recently purchased a quarter-sawn China cabinet and dining room chairs would make it all quarter cut.
My last purchases were not Canadian: 1. 1770 Sam Lahee Irish grandfather clock 2. 1850s English hall stand (bathroom vanity) and 3. China cabinet (US)
Surprisingly, this furniture is not very popular and is amazingly cheap – 25 to 50% the cost of new. This is despite the inherently better wood and construction of this oak furniture. Cheaply made post-modern furniture seems to be in style!!!! Besides furniture, I have other quarter-sawn pieces: a coat rack, a Stirling silver box, and a small box.

QUARTER-SAWN WOOD
Quarter-sawn oak became increasingly popular in the early 20th century as the wood of choice for arts and crafts style pieces. Today, with the wide use of plain sawn wood, quarter sawn oak can be used as an indicator for original or properly reproduced mission-style furniture. The difference between quarter-sawn oak wood and flat sawn – also known as plain sawn – oak wood is as simple as how the lumber is cut. How the lumber is cut has a great deal to do with the look, feel, and durability of the resulting plank.
Quarter-sawn boards (also quarter-cut, radially-sawn, or simply quartered) refer to a specific method of rip-cutting logs into lumber. Quarter sawn boards have greater stability of form and size with less cupping, shrinkage across the width, shake and splitting, and other good qualities. In some woods such as oak, the grain produces a decorative effect that shows a prominent ray fleck.

Process. When boards are cut from a log they are usually rip-cut along the length (axis) of the log. This can be done in three ways: plain-sawing (most common, also known as flat-sawn, bastard-sawn, through and through, and tangent-sawn), quarter-sawing (less common), or rift sawing (rare).

Quarter sawn compared to plain sawn and rift sawn wood.

In flat-sawing, the log is passed through the blade cutting off plank after plank without changing the orientation of the blade or log. The resulting planks have different annual ring orientations when viewed from the end. The relative angle that forms the rings and the surface goes from almost zero degrees in the external planks to almost ninety degrees at the core of the log. Especially in oak, the grain displayed is the distinct “cathedral window” or flame grain. It is also more prone to cupping. Wood tends to cup in the direction opposite the bend of the growth rings. Due to the angle at which it’s cut, flat-sawn oak will almost certainly begin to warp over time as the growth rings are set at such a low angle to the face of the board.
Quarter sawing gets its name from the fact that the log is first quartered lengthwise, resulting in wedges with a right angle ending at approximately the centre of the original log. Each quarter is then cut separately by tipping it up on its point and sawing boards successively along the axis. That results in boards with the annual rings mostly perpendicular to the faces. Quarter sawing yields boards with straight striped grain lines, greater stability than flat sawn wood, and a distinctive ray and fleck figure. It also yields narrower boards, because the log is first quartered, which is more wasteful.
Quarter sawn boards can also be produced by cutting a board from one flat face of the quarter, flipping the wedge onto the other flat face to cut the next board, and so on.
The William Ritter Lumber Company (1890–1960), famous for its Appalachian oak flooring and other products, used a modified technique to reduce waste: (1) bark and a few boards were removed from two opposite sides of the log; (2) the log was cut in half (possibly, four quarters); (3) each piece was placed on the flat side and “quartersawn” lumber was cut. (Note: no reference is made in this source to the notion of “flipping the wedge” as described in the preceding paragraph. Apparently, the cuts were made without “flipping.”)
While quarter sawn oak is more expensive than plain sawn, the value it provides in terms of structural integrity and beauty makes it the obvious choice for anyone looking for a quality piece. Because of the orientation of the growth rings during cutting, quarter-sawn oak wood is naturally resistant to cupping, penetration from moisture, and degradation by the elements. It also receives finishes and stains particularly well as compared to plain sawn oak.
Rift sawing. Quarter sawing is sometimes confused with the much less common “rift sawing.” In quarter-sawn wood, only the centre board of the quarter-log is cut with the growth rings truly perpendicular to the surface of the board. The smaller boards cut from either side have grain increasingly skewed. Rift sawn wood has every board cut along a radius of the original log, so each board has a perpendicular grain, with the growth rings oriented at right angles to the surface of the board. However, since this produces a great deal of waste (in the form of wedge-shaped scraps from between the boards) rift-sawing is very seldom used. Quarter sawn wood is thus seen as an acceptable compromise between economical but less-stable flat sawn wood and the expensively-wasteful rift sawn wood, which has the straightest grain and thus the greatest stability.

Characteristics
Quarter sawn boards have many advantages: they are more resistant to warping with changes in moisture and, while shrinkage can occur, it is less troublesome. It is much more structurally sound and resists cupping, twisting, warping, moisture penetration, and raised grain.

In high-end string instruments, the neck and fretboards can be made from quarter-sawn wood since they must remain stable throughout the life of the instrument, to keep the tone as invariable as possible. In acoustic guitars, quarter sawn wood is also often used for the sides which must be steam bent to produce compound curves. This is partly for structural reasons, but also for the aesthetics of highly figured timbers being highlighted when sawn this way. On high-end electric guitars and bass guitars quarter-sawn wood is often used as the base material for the neck of the guitar since this makes for a stronger and straighter neck which aids tuning and setup stability.
The second advantage of quarter-sawn wood is the decorative pattern on the board, although this depends on the timber species. Flat sawn wood (especially oak) will often display a prominent wavy grain (sometimes called a cathedral-window pattern) caused by the saw cutting at a tangent to a growth ring; since in quarter sawn wood the saw cuts across the growth rings, the visible grain is much straighter; it is this evenness of the grain that gives quarter-sawn wood its greater stability.
In addition to the grain, quarter-sawn wood (particularly oak) will also often display a pattern of medullary rays, seen as subtle wavy ribbon-like patterns across the straight grain. Medullary rays grow in a radial fashion in the living tree, so while flat-sawing would cut across the rays, quarter-sawing puts them on the face of the board. In oak wood especially, these flecks and rays can be quite dramatic and add a unique, striking quality to the wood, particularly prized, and are essential features of mission style antique and period piece furniture and decorative paneling.
The superior nature of quarter-sawn oak has made it a favourite since the early 20th century in arts and crafts style pieces and quarter-sawn oak in particular is the wood of choice for mission style furniture both old and new.
Quarter-sawn oak was a key feature of the decorative style of the American Arts and Crafts movement, particularly the work of Gustav Stickley, who said “The quarter sawing method of cutting… renders quarter-sawn oak structurally stronger, also finer in grain, and, as shown before, less liable to warp and check than when sawn in any other way.” Cheaper copies of Stickley’s furniture were sometimes made with the less-expensive ash stained to resemble oak, but it can be identified by its lack of rays.
Wood cut in this way will tend to be more expensive. In cutting a log, quarter-sawn boards can be produced in several ways, but if a log is cut for maximum yield it will produce only a few quarter-sawn boards among the total; if a log is cut to produce only quarter-sawn boards there will be a considerable waste. The process indicated in the US as “quarter sawing” yields a few boards that are quarter sawn, but mostly rift sawn boards.

COLLECTING CANADIAN FURNITURE
The history of Canadian furniture can be divided into 2 parts. Prior to about 1870 furniture was made by individual craftsmen or in small furniture shops of under a dozen men. The market was mostly local. After 1870, furniture became hi-tech. Steam power was practical and available. The railway ran from Sarnia to Montreal and north into the Bruce Peninsula and through the Muskokas. The population of Canada was exploding and so was prosperity. There was a need for a great deal of solid, inexpensive but stylish furniture.
Western Ontario became the focus of most of the furniture production in Canada from 1880 through 1940. This was a result of several factors all coming together at the same time.
The American Revolution of 1776, the War of 1812, the growth of the German & Mennonite populations in Pennsylvania combined with Lord Simcoe’s immigration policies of the early part of the century resulted in a large number of skilled tradespeople as well as farmers settling in the Niagara Peninsula and then upward into the Bruce, Grey Counties along the rivers and the shore of Lake Huron. These areas were densely forested with hardwoods, oak, and walnut, etc, and were also potentially good farmland. This combination had great appeal for the settlers of German descent who had strong farming and cabinet-making skills.
By 1870, the railway had reached the lake ports of Owen Sound, Collingwood, etc, the towns of Hanover, Wingham, Wiarton, Southampton and others were well established and the demand for furniture was insatiable. The population of Toronto went from 46,000 in 1871 to 181,000 in 1891.  The Civil War had seriously disrupted the American economy and thus created shortages of imports from America. In 1878 the Canadian Government passed a Tariff protecting domestic furniture against imports. All the factors came together and the growth started. Check your furniture at home that came from the family. CFM (Canadian Furniture Manufacturers), Chesley Furniture, Owen Sound Furniture, Krug, Knechtel, Malcolm, Bell, Peppler are just some of the names you may find.
The introduction of steam-powered lathes and saws etc meant standardization and loss of individuality. The factories could reproduce Chippendale, Sheraton, Queen Ann, and all the other styles of the previous 200 years. Everything became mix and match. However, style and fashion still influence what people buy and the styles in furniture changed about every 15 years. We can look at a buffet and with reasonable certainty identify its age within a 10-15 year period.
A lot of the furniture produced was oak, especially at the turn of the century. Black walnut, an early favourite, was becoming expensive, mahogany had to be imported and oak was plentiful. The prestige pieces were still made of walnut and mahogany but the demand was coming from the growing middle class. Eaton’s Catalogue first appeared in 1884 and by 1912 you could order complete homes (from siding to plumbing, bedroom suites to kitchen sink) ready to assemble, and delivered to your homestead. Therefore inexpensive practical furniture was needed and the Canadian Factories provided it.
As well as the big factories in Western Ontario, there were others in Quebec and the Maritimes. Many small factories came and went and finding examples of their work is challenging. For example, The Orillia Furniture Company was in existence from 1906 to at least 1930. Located at the bottom of Andrew St, south of the tracks, the company produced Dining Room Buffets among other things. Little else is known.

MY FURNITURE 
Most companies produced a range of furniture quality. The best pieces have solid wood skirts, barley twist legs, turned edges, and decorative elements. The wood with the most decorative ray fleck was used for the best furniture. All my pieces have magnificent grain. Unless otherwise noted, all are stripped and finished with Watco Danish Oil Black Walnut.
1. Book side stand. 24″ x 11.5″, spectacular grain. World-class

2. Small sideboard. 31″ x 15″, spectacular grain and design, drawer, bottom shelf with a good repair of damage to right front shelf, barley twist legs. World-class

3. Oval side table. 36″ x 24″, spectacular grain, solid wood curved skirt, barley twist legs, unique X-shaped bottom leg support. When obtained had a significant area of water damage but is difficult to see with refinishing. World-class. 

4. Small Side Table – rectangular with round corners. Lovely legs and grain. Shelf with a finished edge. Varnished. World-class.

5. Barrister’s bookcase. Globe Wernicke Co “Elastic” Book Cadet, 3-stack. Grade D299 (tiger oak with medium finish). Patent 1896, 1987, 1898. The original company label is from Cinncinati, Ohio (Branches and Agencies Everywhere) but the stamp says Stratford Canada. 34″ x 12″ x 46.75″ tall. 5-piece (top, 3 shelves, bottom with drawer), glass doors. Original finish. Wavy glass. Possibly my most valuable piece of furniture dollar-wise.
Globe-Wernicke was an American furniture company based in Cincinnati, Ohio founded in 1893 and best known for their high-end bookcases, desks, and other office furniture. Globe Wernicke established factories in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
The company patented the “elastic bookcases” also known as a modular bookcase or barrister’s bookcase. These were high-quality stacking bookshelves, with a standard width of 34 inches, in oak, walnut, and mahogany, capable of being adapted to fit together to form a bookcase that could either be all of the same measurements or which could be rearranged by the insertion of units of different depths and heights up to 6 high – several shelf heights: 8 1/2, 10 1/4, 12 1/4, and 18″; desks are not uncommon, stained glass units, bottom drawers (not common).
These glass-fronted shelves are today collectible antiques highly desired by collectors. With regularity, these bookcases appear in auctions and internet sites and, what originally cost $75 or so will now be sold for over $1000 or more.
During World War II 90% of the company’s business in the US was converted to produce military equipment.

6. Round side table. 24″ diameter. 3.75″ deep, bottom shelf.

7. Double bed headboard. 56″ wide x 77″ high. Spectacular grain. Opulently carved top. Finished with Howard Restore. World-class.

8. Round Coffee table. 45″ diameter. Converted dining room table with the base cut down. Had 2 leaves, one sacrificed to make a shelf for the stereo stand (but would never use the remaining leaf). Good table lock. Spectacular grain. Solid wood round skirt. Very nice solid wood legs. World-Class

9. Dining Room Table. 82″ x 42″ with four 10″ leaves. Kept with one leaf (52″) using a lock adapted from another table. Five round legs 3.75″ diameter. Solid curved skirt. Spectacular grain. Finished (a little lighter) when purchased. World-class.

10. Desk. 55″ x 33.5″x 30.5″ high. Originally a roll-top, the top had been removed and the locks removed when refinished. 4 drawers per side, central drawer, two pull-out shelves. World-class.

11. Desk chair, swivel on coasters. Krug. World Class.

12. Side table with drawer. Converted into a stereo stand (drawer CD & tv, receiver, central speaker, turntable). This piece easily has the most spectacular grain with very fine flecks. World-class.
I had the shelf for the ampifier made from an old leaf from my large round coffee table. The only “damage” to the original piece are screws into the drawer hanger.

13. Drawers. 45″ x 20″ x 56.75″ high. Drawers: three 9.5″, one 8″ and one 4″ (three compartments). All drawers are lockable with long wood side lock. Key. Headboard with wonderful carving. Spectacular grain. Original finish and hardware. Howard Restore on the drawer fronts. World-class.

14. Small desk with fold-down top, wavy door front. 28.75″ x 16″. Sloping front hinges down to form a desk. Spectacular grain some veneer.

15. Coat rack. Modern remanufactured. 5 hooks.

16. Art nouveau mirror. Plate glass

17. Desk chair, small. Cane seat originally. Had three cloth seats with over 200 nails when I bought it. I bought cane online and replaced the seat myself. Easy to do. 

18. Rocking chair. Green padded seat.

19. Drop Leaf table. 47.5″ x 36″ x 27.5″ high oval drop leaf table that folds down to 16 x 36 inches. Mediocre grain. Barley twist legs. This is a great work table that is easy to move around and has three sizes.  

20. Dining room chairs. Not quarter-sawn. Green leather seats original. Howard Restore. One of the pieces I would like to improve with quarter-sawn pieces.

21. China cabinet. Three wood shelves. Moderate grain, best in solid panels that form the back of the cabinet. Barley twist legs. No pulls but has two locks and a key. Original finish.
A label on the back says
Standard Table Co
Jamestown New York
No. 229 (handwritten)
Size: China C (handwritten)
Very little is known about the Standard Table Co other than that it operated from 1890-1920. Is not a maker that has any particular value.
While all but gone today, Jamestown’s furniture industry was once the second-largest producer of furniture in the United States. Manufacturing boomed from 1816, when William Breed and Royal Keyes opened their shops, to the 1920s, when Jamestown was still one of the top wood furniture producers in the country. In the nineteenth century, the thriving railroad industry allowed Jamestown’s quality creations to be distributed nationwide. After the Civil War, an influx of Swedish immigrants brought their craftsmanship and skills to Jamestown, forming Morgan Manufacturing, Empire Furniture Company and many others. Then, their pieces were valued for quality and durability; today, they’re coveted by collectors as beautiful antiques.
Read: The Jamestown Furniture Industry: History in Wood, 1816-1920 By Clarence Carlson
See Jamestown Furniture. 

22. Sam Lahee Irish long case clock. 92″ tall, brass clock face. 1770-90. A Sam Lahee bracket clock was valued at €18,000. this is much nicer. World class.

23. English hall stand. Carved flowers, drawer solid wood, umbrella stands on each side, plate glass mirror, forged hooks, drawer pulls, and handles. From the 1850s. Stained black but refinished. World-class.

24. Whiting Silverware box. 18.5″ x 14.5″ x 8″ high. Drawer front but no drawer. Spectacular grain with brass corner braces, plaque and drawer pulls.

25. Small box. 14″ x 7.5″ x 10.5″ high. Perfect bread box. Lovely patina.

26. Small Coffee table. Very old with folk art legs. Top is two large boards with wild grain. 

Other pieces
1. Table lamp. Unique clear, cut-glass shade, repurposed base.

2. Metal standing lamp. Unique copper-plated iron stand. Mexican stained glass shade.

3. Stained glass window. Art deco from the 1920s. Originally from Winnipeg. 

4. Stained Glass Window. This spectacular window was purchased in the Comox Valley from a woman originally from Winnipeg. She purchased the window in the mid-80s at an auction in Winnipeg for less than $100. There was another panel with several broken pieces of glass. She had the window rebuilt – the one panel was removed and the glass was used to repair other broken pieces. All the came was replaced and an oak frame was made. The stained glass company was amazed at the quality of the glass – all handmade – and probably dating from the 1890s. The round “bubble glass” pieces are quite rare.  This is the result and explains all the asymmetry in the window. She had done some research but was unable to find any history on the window.
She had made several moves with the window. She was renting and not able to hang it, her children had no interest in it and so she reluctantly decided to sell it. She looked up prices on eBay and was asking $1600. She found a broken piece and reduced it to $1400 and that is what I paid.
I contacted the Manitoba Museum and received a reply from Dr. Roland Sawatzky, Curator of History at the museum about the providence of this window: “Thanks for your email. That certainly is a fine window, and I would agree with the 1890s date. Could be the 1880s or early 1900s as well. Unfortunately, I can’t place the artist or original building, as this proportion of window and glass types was somewhat common for the period. We have similar examples in our new Winnipeg Gallery, which are originally from the old City Hall building (the building was completed in 1886 but some of the stained glass was installed later). I’ve attached an image. My guess is that this window would have been placed vertically, but on one side or other of the triptych (there’s an asymmetrical feature). Like the City Hall pieces, it may have been part of a civic building, rather than a private home, but of course, that’s possible too.”
I then contacted Prairie Studio Glass in Winnipeg ” Thank you for reaching out regarding your new stained glass window. Unfortunately, I do not have any way to determine where or who made your window unless there is a maker’s mark on the piece somewhere. Based on the photos the 1890 timeline looks correct as the machine-rolled glass is certainly typical for around that time period and certainly the right-hand part of the window is unique in design.
As far as its value I would say unless there is a direct connection to a well-known maker for this piece, it is simply a nicely restored piece of turn-of-the-century art glass with a replacement value of around $800 as it is.” I then wrote the lady I bought it from and congratulated her on the good deal. 

TIMELINE
This is a beginning timeline of Canadian Furniture Manufacturers. No attempt is made to cover the many Cabinet makers but rather to examine those individuals or companies who produced furniture in quantity (manufactured). It is by no means complete and additions are welcomed.