I grew up with campaign furniture. My grandparents collected it. And my dad was fond of building it. We had stacking campaign chests (and, weirdly, side tables) in our house in Arkansas.
I didn’t think anything was odd about it. It was simple and rugged stuff. Nothing fancy.
But when I started working at Popular Woodworking Magazine, I found that none of the editors had any interest in the style. After surveying 200,000 readers, they had data on their side. Here’s what readers wanted to read about:
- Country furniture (whatever that is)
- Shaker furniture
- Arts & Crafts furniture
- Other furniture
Readers never even mentioned “campaign furniture” when asked what furniture styles they liked. Instead of kowtowing to the data, I decided that readers needed to be exposed to campaign furniture. And then they would like it.
So in 2014, I wrote “Campaign Furniture,” a book I spent almost a decade researching. The book has nine projects that offer a fair look at this important furniture style. There are campaign chests, folding desks, collapsible bookshelves and Roorkhee chairs – folding leather armchairs you can carry under your arm.
My family and friends have been living with the furniture for 12 years now. We’ve moved houses. I’ve taken the Roorkhee chairs all over the country (and built more than 100 of them for customers). And the campaign chests have been moved up and down the stairs over and over.
Movers love campaign furniture. The stuff breaks down easily. And you can drop it (a lot).
I love working at my campaign secretary. I fold it open and have everything I need to be a writer. In the drawers below, I have my small collection of handplanes plus all the demos my college band recorded in the 1990s.
My campaign chest (in reclaimed teak) is a personal favorite. I keep my collection of Kurt Vonnegut novels on top. And the skeletonized brass hardware makes me think everytime I use it. Why don’t we make hardware like this anymore?
The joinery on campaign furniture is faultless. The full-blind dovetails on campaign chests are the best of both worlds. They are incredibly strong and incredibly forgiving to saw and chisel.
The officers’ chest offers a joint you won’t find outside of campaign furniture: a rabbeted and screwed joint where the proud screw heads are leveled with a file.
When I finished writing the book, I had at least 50 other projects that I wanted to build for a second book on the style. But I have never found the time.
Fingers crossed I can get back to it.
— Christopher Schwarz