Category: Campaign Furniture

After wallowing in images of campaign furniture for the last three years, it became clear to me that many of its core principles – clean design, good joinery, nice wood – had been grafted onto the Danish Modern style.

Some of the connections are obvious, such as the relationship between the Roorkee chair and Kaare Klint’s Safari Chair, which I point out in my book “Campaign Furniture.” But today, Caleb James made another important connection between the two styles.

Caleb has long been a fan and a maker of Danish Modern furniture, though now he focuses more on planemaking and Windsor chairs.

Caleb sent me photos of a secretary by Peter Hvidt (1916–1986), which has many of the hallmarks (or perhaps vestigial organs) of campaign furniture. A little more research turned up some other close stylistic connections between Hvidt’s designs and those from the Victorian campaign style. Let’s take a look.

1. It’s a dresser on a low stand. Like campaign pieces, Hvidt’s case pieces commonly have a plinth that mimics the turned feet that are common on campaign pieces.

2. Recessed pulls. Like campaign pieces, Hvidt’s “pulls” are recessed into the case and suggest the traditional swan-neck pulls on old chests of drawers – just like campaign pieces.

3. A horizontal line between the cases. Though most of Hvidt’s cases don’t break down into two separate carcases, he put in a blade in the middle of the case that echos the division of the two case pieces in campaign furniture.

4. Excellent joinery. Hvidt’s cases are characterized by strong joinery, such as finger joints and dovetails. Campaign stuff is all about joinery that can survive rough treatment.

5. Nice wood. Lots of Hvidt’s pieces are wide teak boards. Lots of campaign pieces are wide teak boards.

Here are some other Hvidt pieces to explore.

• Double Cabinet
• 1960s Secretarie
• Dresser/Secretarie with a Sledge Plinth

Thanks to Caleb for sending these on. More research to come….

— Christopher Schwarz

One of the core ideas behind campaign furniture was it was a little piece of home wherever British citizens roamed. The soldiers, clerks and support staff who administered the affairs of the British Empire all over the globe remade their local landscape to remind them of home.

Their furniture and clothes were another reminder of where they came from.

Brian Eve of the blog Toolerable sent me the above image of a Roorkee-like chair that was built by a Welsh prisoner of war who was held in Bavaria during World War II. If you ever wondered if the Roorkee chair was imprinted on the mind of the British, I think you have your answer here.

More information on the chair can be found here.

— Christopher Schwarz

Paul Mayon of the New English Workshop blog posted a quite generous review this week of my latest book, “Campaign Furniture.”

It is such a nice review that I am compelled to point out that we never solicit reviews here at Lost Art Press. And we don’t send out unsolicited review copies of our books to seek a kind word. We just sell books.

You can read the full review via this link. Or, if you prefer a blurb, try this one on:

“Whether you intend to make any campaign furniture or not, once you have read this book you will begin to see campaign furniture in a whole new light. The style is abundant, influential, robust in the extreme, looks great in almost any setting, modular and is relatively easy for less skilled woodworkers to make. Once you realise this you will probably find yourself asking ‘Why don’t I have any campaign furniture in my home?’ ”

Thank you, Paul.

— Christopher Schwarz

Daniel Whitson, a furniture maker and carpenter in western North Carolina, recently finished building this Roorkee for a friend opening a retail store. The legs are made from rhododendron, which is plentiful where he lives.

I have been surprised how well the domesticated Roorkee can rusticated. Check out Brian Eve’s Roorkee on his blog Toolerable, which he made using Diamond Willow.

Plans for the Roorkee are from the book “Campaign Furniture.” If you think chairmaking is beyond your skill set, you haven’t built a Roorkee. They are surprisingly fast and easy to build.

— Christopher Schwarz

Norman Reid of Wood News Online just reviewed “Campaign Furniture” for the latest issue. Here is a short excerpt of the review:

“…(W)hile I was tempted to pass up this book, I’m very glad I didn’t. I came to like it a lot. It is, as we’ve come to expect from Schwarz, informative, clear and entertainingly written. The book is well-illustrated throughout with photos that convey the essence of critical construction steps. It is hard bound and printed on high quality paper, something that’s usual for books from Lost Art Press, which makes this one a definite keeper.”

You can read the full review here. The entire issue of Wood News Online can be read here.

— Christopher Schwarz