Lifetime Furniture Oak Two-Door Wardrobe & Dresser [SOLD]

The Grand Rapids Bookcase & Chair Company had its heydays between 1896 and the 1950s.  It outlasted most other companies that made Mission Oak furniture.  The Grand Rapids Bookcase & Chair Company inaugurated its mission furniture line in early 1900 and named it Lifetime Furniture.  The company advertised that it made “only that which is useful and beautiful in its plain sturdiness.”  Plain sturdiness was a good description as Lifetime Furniture was made to last a lifetime and has done so, now exceeding 100 years of use.

The style of furniture made in the 1911 to 1916 period was Lifetime Furniture’s “Cloister” style.  The 1910 Cloister Style catalog stated “It is the policy of the Manufacturers of Lifetime Furniture to produce only furniture worthy of being retained in the house 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.”

This certainly is the case with this strong and sturdy two-door wardrobe.  On the interior left side is a closet section for hanging clothes and on the right side are four drawers over which are two shelves.  The left door has a hook to keep it closed and the right door has a key lock—unfortunately there is no key available.

Condition: structurally in excellent condition

Provenance: from a family in Santa Fe which has owned it since 1995

Recommended Reading: Lifetime Furniture: The Cloister Styles, Grand Rapids Bookcase and Chair Company