Comments and Tags
Be the first to comment on this item!
Furniture ➔ Settee
Identifier:
201377Description:
This settee was manufactured by Retting Furniture Company between 1904 and 1920. It has a padded leather backrest and seat that are trimmed with brass tacks. The stiles and center support are topped with grooved rectangular caps and they extend to create the rear baluster-turned legs. The cyma-curved scrolled armrests feature foliate motifs near the stiles and are supported by balusters. The front legs are also baluster-turned and it has a turned H-stretcher.This settee is part of a set that includes 192730, 192731, 192732, 192733, 192734, 185437, 201377, and 201378 and was used in the Grand Rapids Press conference room in the building on Fulton Street. The Museum has another matching set from Retting Furniture Company that includes 191480.1 and 191480.2.
Marks and Labels
-"G366": Metal oval tag on the back of the center support
Date:
1904 – 1920Materials:
Oak, LeatherDimensions:
44" h 60" w 28" dCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift of the Grand Rapids PressRelated Entities:
Grand Rapids Press (donor)Alternate names: Evening Press, Evening Press and Leader
The history of the Grand Rapids Press began in 1890 when William J. Sproat published the first issue of Morning Press. In 1892, George G. Booth purchased both the Morning Press and the Grand Rapids Evening Leader and in December of that year, the Evening Press and Leader was formed by joining the two papers. In early 1893, the name was shortened to the Evening Press and was used until 1913 when the name changed to the Grand Rapids Press. The Grand Rapids Herald merged with the Press in 1959.
The Grand Rapids Press had five locations in the West Michigan area prior to moving production to Ohio in 2020. The first was at 63 Pearl Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan on the second floor of the Metropolitan building. These offices were used by the Press from 1890 to 1892 until they moved to offices on the southeast end of the Pearl Street Bridge. This location, often referred to as the "by the bridge" location, was the first to include a printing press owned by the newspaper. After a remodel in 1893 due to a spring flood, the tanbark gymnasium, dedicated as the Newsboys Assembly Hall in 1894, was built for the newsboys after their original space became home to a second printing press. In 1906 the Evening Press moved to the corner of Fulton and Sheldon in Grand Rapids, Michigan to accommodate the growth of the business. Built specifically for the Press, the building was designed by Albert Kahn and consisted of four floors including an auditorium on the top floor and a pool in the basement. The Press stayed at this location until 1966 when they moved to a new, larger facility at 155 Michigan Street in Grand Rapids. They stayed at this facility until a move to Walker, Michigan in 2004. This was the final Michigan location of the Press prior to moving production out of state in 2020.
The Grand Rapids Press is part of Booth Newspapers, a media company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Formed in 1914 by brothers George G. Booth, Ralph H. Booth, and Edmund W. Booth, it owned The Bay City Times, The Flint Journal, The Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, The Saginaw News, and Advance Newspapers. Retting Furniture Company (creator)
Alternate names: Retting and Sweet Furniture Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Manufacturer of fine upholstered drawing room, lodge, and ecclesiastical furniture in period styles, including Louis XV and XVI, William and Mary, Queen Anne, Elizabethan, Jacobean, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Renaissance. Retting produced the furnishings for many of the lodge halls in Grand Rapids. Successor to Retting & Sweet. Located on Godfrey Ave. Executives listed in 1895 directory were Charles F. Retting (President), Walter S Brackett (Vice President), Robert A. Matheson (Secretary), Charles B. Retting (Treasurer).
SEE ALSO Retting & Sweet
