Company: Todhunter Inc., 119 East 57th Street, Manhattan,
NY
Catalog Type: Heavy 16 pt
Printed Cover; stapled pages w/ Black & White Illustrations
Size: 8-5/8” X 11”
# of Pages: 16 ppg plus
one loose insert sheet
Key Catalog Items: Decorative 16th & 17th
Century Basket Grates for burning coal & wood; Large Stone Hob Grates &
Fireplace Inserts made of Hand-Forged Iron; Register Grates or Elaborate Hob
Grates; Gas & Electric Fire Grates; Andirons, or Firedogs, w/Basket Grates;
Franklin Stoves & Fire Frames; Coal Scuttles, Wood Storage Carriages &
Fireplace Tools. Prices and dimensions
listed at bottom of each page.
Condition: Front & Back Covers have some light
soiling from handling; some heavier age tanning on upper left-hand corner of
back cover. All pages are tight to cover
intact with no tears, rips, or pencil marks. Pages were printed on toned paper to give it
an antique look, but likely have tanned a little more over the last 93 years!!
Overall Condition: VG.
The Unique
Manhattan Metalwork Shop Catalog is being offered here at a reasonable “Buy It Now” price, or simply ‘Make
An Offer’! All
offers will be seriously considered! Contact
me if any specific Q’s! Best of luck to all….. and watch for more Antique/Vintage
parts, components, and ephemera of all kinds coming soon!
History of Todhunter Inc.:
Arthur
Todhunter arrived in New York from England.
He founded Todhunter, Inc. to import antique architectural
items--mantelpieces, fireplace equipment, vintage lighting fixtures and
hardware, and entire paneled rooms. His
success led him to contract with local wood and metal workers to have
reproductions made specifically for his operation.
For
decades architects and builders had stripped Europe of architectural elements
for American mansions. In 1913 American
Architect and Architecture noted the scarcity of Adams Brothers mantels. “The work of these famous craftsmen has been
so eagerly sought for by collectors that there are few, if any, genuine
examples to be found that the owners will consent to part with.” The journal prompted architects to turn to
Arthur Todhunter. “The delicate detail, the correct proportion and the purity
of the artistic design of Adam mantels commends them for extended use.”
In 1914
Todhunter opened his own factory in Long Island City
which provided an array of items to his Manhattan store at No. 200 Fifth
Avenue. Now, along with the mantels for
which he was best known, he offered weathervanes, lighting fixtures for both
indoor and outdoor use, hinges, door handles, and other reproduction hardware. Todhunter’s well-organized catalogue was a
must-have for architects and builders.
By 1921
Amelia Mason had left No. 119 East 57th Street and the Encyclopedia Press
leased the building for its headquarters.
The company’s conversion of the high-stooped dwelling was tepid when
compared to the alterations Arthur Todhunter would do six years later.
In 1927
he designed a new façade for the house, in consultation with architect Lewis
Patton. In the 1920s a romantic
fascination with old English architecture had swept the nation, resulting in
entire communities of quaint neo-Tudor cottages. The fad extended into commercial buildings as
well. In 1924 for instance, Finchley’s,
a high-end menswear store, remodeled the Euclid Building on Fifth Avenue into a
half-timbered fantasy.
The
completed transformation was remarkable.
The New York Times said, “The building suggests late sixteenth century
England transported to the heart of New York’s shopping district.”
Todhunter
had reproduced a medieval house with tiny-paned windows, a scalloped
bargeboard, and a remarkable second story balcony reached by a circular
staircase. Here two show windows with
small panes flanked a heavy iron-studded door.
As with his reproduction mantels and hardware, Arthur Todhunter took
great efforts to assure the look of authenticity. Many of the elements of the façade were
original to the period.
On
February 12, 1928, The New York Times explained “The designer was fortunate in
finding old fragments of stone and carved woodwork to use in the
ornamentation. The gable is covered with
old English red hand-made tiles. The
weathervane of wrought-iron and copper was taken from an old Queen Anne
building. Much of the window glazing is
antique.”
Todhunter,
Inc. displayed its reproductions in the building for a decade. Interestingly, while the craftsmanship of the
items was unparalleled, the prices were not out of reach. The average cost of a mantel in 1921 was $200.
Although
Arthur Todhunter continued in business in New York until 1943; he had gone from
the Todhunter Building by 1939.