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Mission style furniture  1880-1915

The word mission furniture indicates the furniture of Spanish missions throughout colonial California in the late 19th Century. Mission style furniture was primarily built from native American oak , that could be varnished but never painted, with leather and canvas, crafted to be simple and useful. There were no unnecessary lines in "mission furniture", the tenors often pegged for extra strength or used the mortise as a design element. Gustav Stickley 1858-1942, was the key figure of this era. Stickley had a chair factory in the 1880s. At the beginning of the 20th century he planned to establish a boarding school for boys in Morris Plains, New Jersey.
Most famous in "mission furniture" is the Stickley chair.
The "mission style" furniture had a general decline after WW1. In recent years, Stickley style has become popular once more.

Colonial:

Shaker: