Lifetime Furniture "Chair and Rocking Chair Set" [SOLD]

One of the furniture lines produced by the Grand Rapids Bookcase and Chair Company was classified as “The Cloister Styles.”  The company catalog described that style as: 

            “Cloister Styles in Lifetime Furniture are the embodiment of simplicity, strength and comfort.  Useless ornamentation and display have been eliminated and in its place has been incorporated only that which is useful and beautiful in its plain sturdiness.

            “It is the policy of the Manufacturers of Lifetime Furniture to produce only furniture worthy of being retained in the home of the purchaser indefinitely; furniture that will neither go out of style or (sic) become unpresentable from use until it has given service valued at many times the purchase price.”

The company completely succeeded in its mission in the manufacture of this pair of chairs.  They embody the simplicity of Mission Oak furniture, they are massively heavy and strong, and they are sturdy and extraordinarily comfortable.  They have endured for over 100 years as evidenced by their inclusion in the company’s 1910 catalog.  Each has a paper label attached on which the chair number 688 (rocking chair) and 688-1/2 (straight chair) is marked.

Condition: very good condition with relatively new brown leather cushions

Provenance: from a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: Life-Time Furniture - The Cloister Styles – Grand Rapids Bookcase and Chair Company 1910 catalog