Newfoundland

Are known in Newfoundland any furniture that predates 1810-1820, years when restrictions on land grants are eliminated and local planning is encouraged. Mark Green and George Hancock were the first cabinet formed in England to arrive in St. John's in 1815 to serve the growing population. Samuel Creed arrives from Halifax to 1833, and the work that has survived indicates a conservative approach to furniture styles in vogue. The fact that W. Gammon manufactures Windsor style chairs at both Halifax and St. John's and found the chairs of its kind in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland suggests early strong links between the artisans of the region of Atlantic.

Some cabinet makers move into the forefront important, as HARBOUR GRACE, but most are located in St. John's, economic and political capital. There are 6 cabinetmakers in the 1840 and 10 in 1870. Thus, the workshop of furniture Matthew Pope, which opens its doors in 1859, is one of those who manufacture household furniture and furniture for public institutions. Do we know the work of these craftsmen and these workshops do not reflect a great imagination, because they just within the limits of their capabilities and their tools, copy the styles found in the books sample. There are exceptions, including the workshop HW Winter to Clarke's Beach, in Conception Bay.

The dressing desks and benches are using the repertoire of ornaments (chisel trim, appliqués, columns, chamfers, arches) combined so inventive and brightly painted. When the furniture requires special expertise, such as calling chair woodwork, conservatism takes over.

Old styles survive, and new styles are adapted to the capabilities of artisans and their tools. Carver chair, named in the XVII^th century, is made until the end of XIX^th century. Frequently found Sheraton chairs (as opposed to rare Chippendale chairs), but instead turned legs of this particular style, they have the legs tapered square base related to the Hepplewhite style, easier to achieve. For similar reasons, we do not find seats with backs shaped Hepplewhite style shield-back or in a balloon-style Victorian, too difficult to execute.

There is the same interaction of professionalism and conservatism in the kitchen cabinets of the period 1810-1820. These parts are probably made by carpenters in building because they are generally part of the overall architecture of the kitchen. These carpenters, who do not build for themselves, therefore cannot let their imagination run and have to build a home reflecting the social status of the owner, which favors certain conservatism.

At the end of the XIX^th century, the emergence of factory made furniture and mail order catalogs which inspired the common man and the greater use of woodworking tools are beginning to affect the furniture manufactured away from the capital. The chairs and sofas "catalog style, thin frame and applied ornaments, replacing furniture Eastlake, one of the first factory-made types, decorations gouged machine.

Typically found furniture those reproduce these forms on the outside of St. John's, where it is more difficult to buy ready-made furniture. This furniture show ingenuity in their manufacture incorporating the waste wood from packing crates or houses as well as entire elements made on furniture which is discarded. Assemblages also reveal a unique economy which discourages waste.

Given its location on the outskirts of North America and its economy is marginal, the furniture of Newfoundland, like many of its other forms of HANDICRAFTS, will never become popular in other regions of the Atlantic. Newfoundland retains form and older construction techniques, but applies various decorative processes that reflect a strong visual imagination.