Kruger Masterpieces: Inside and Out

The era of Victorian Rococo Revival began in America circa 1840 and was displaced circa 1870 by the more angular Eastlake style. This elaborate scrolled and carved style of furniture derived directly from France with the immigration of Alexander Roux and Charles Boudouine. Originally in New York, the style spread across America and particularly into the South. Important makers succeeding Roux and Boudouine were John Henry Belter and Joseph Meeks, although the style is associated with the Belter name by the general public.

The artistry of Thomas A. Warner's carving is startling. The pierced grape and vine pattern and rose carvings on the apron and cabriole legs exhibit his skills beautifully. The stretchers support a carved bowl of fruit.

Also known as a Hunt Table, his horseshoe table represents a specialty table used for serving drinks. This design was an English form and was not found in the American colonies. When in use, the two leaves in the rear would be extended and the open ends placed in front of a fire. A curtain would be hung over the wire rod to protect the gentleman from the heat. White netting in the semi-circle of the table would hold biscuits, kept warm by the nearby fire, and the coasters held bottles that could be moved freely without damaging the tabletop.

The backgammon table is an exceptional reproduction of a particular Louis XVI game table Eloise Kruger requested from Eric Pearson. The table has a lift-off top that shows a wood surface or can be flipped to show a green baize playing surface. When the lift-off top is removed, an inlaid backgammon board is revealed, along with ivory playing pieces, dice, and leather casting cups. Two candlesticks fit into pegs on the backgammon board for evening play. The two small dovetailed working drawers can contain the game pieces or candlesticks when the table is covered.

Also referred to as a "lady's companion," this type of desk appears indiscriminate in a bedroom or living area.

The slide shelf on the side reveals a leather-covered reading and writing board. The hidden desk function gives it the moniker of a butler's desk, as these could be found within nightstands, chests of drawers, or dining sideboards.

Concertina-action folding tables have obvious advantages over the gate-leg style of table; there is always a leg at each corner whether the table is folded or extended. The method for constructing concertina-action tables is quite difficult and requires a master cabinetmaker's skill.

When Eloise Kruger wrote Eric Pearson that she would like one of these card tables, she didn't expect he could replicate the concertina-action in 1:12 scale, "I don't see how you can make a concertina this small, but it will not matter if it does not fold up. Have no intention of folding it" (Eloise Kruger to Eric Pearson, January 24, 1964). She was delighted when he replicated the table exactly, down to the concertina-action.

This style of dressing table was mainly an English design and rarely found in America.

It contains all the necessary accessories for grooming including a wash basin, cologne, shaving cups and slots for hair brushes, ceramic water flask, a lift mirror, and pull-out bidet. Eight drawers to store other personal items feature dovetailing.

Inlaid with three different woods as well as brass, this chest of drawers perfectly exhibits the opulence of the French design. Quartered veneer and mahogany cross-banding provide gorgeous color and texture without the need for ornamentation.

Eloise Kruger saw a full-sized version of this commode in an historic home in Brownville, Nebraska. She immediately sketched the piece, made note of its dimensions, and wrote to her favorite miniature artisan, Eric Pearson.

In his correspondence, Mr. Pearson lightheartedly nicknamed the piece the "Barber's Music Box," and Ms. Kruger had noted the considerable amount of embarrassment she went through in describing the various parts of the commode in her instructions to Pearson.

The maple seat can be removed in order to retrieve the two-handled pot within. The fabric pouch under the lid holds toilet tissue. This type of commode was mass produced in Philadelphia by The Hale and Kilburn Company between 1875 and 1905.

When Eloise Kruger mentioned to Eric Pearson that the gentleman in her 18th century southern parlor needed a set of dueling pistols, Mr. Pearson surprised her with this set.

Each item is removable from the mahogany case, and the set includes a working bullet mould, rods for cleaning the guns and ammunition cases at the corners.

Ms. Kruger and her husband were thrilled when she received the dueling pistols by post. She wrote to Mr. Pearson, "We keep going back to look at it again, which is dangerous. We both caught horrible colds in Chicago and if either of us should sneeze, all would be lost. It is completely fabulous."

Eloise Kruger commissioned this kettle stand, or urn stand, from Eric Pearson based on a clipping she sent him of an Irish urn stand.

The table is large enough to hold little more than a hot kettle, keeping it safely off other surfaces as tea is served. Most kettle stands contained a pull out slide such as this one, which could be used to place your cup as the hot tea is poured.

This gentleman's reading chair and other straddle chairs of similar fashion were popular in mid 18th century England. Some also contained a pull-out book rest at the head of the chair or pull-out candle holders at the chair arms.

The drawer featured in this chair seat could be used to contain a book, spectacles, writing implements, or any other devices related to the chair's purpose. This one contains a shallow porcelain bowl

Eloise Kruger commissioned miniature artist Eric Pearson in 1963 to reproduce this chair from an illustration in F. Lewis Hinckley's A Directory of Antique Furniture (New York: Bonanza Books, 1953).

She planned this piece for her gentleman's library, composed of other Pearson pieces including a breakfront bookcase, library steps, leather-paneled pedestal desk, and architect's table.

This linen press was one of the many unique items Ms. Kruger commissioned Eric Pearson for. She writes in a letter dated April 2, 1966:

"This is actually a printed picture press, but the linen presses were made exactly the same, except that the board which presses down was thicker. There were many versions, some on chests of drawers and some to set free on top of a storage lidded chest, but neither of these makes sense to me, and I think my ancestresses would prefer this version, where each pile of pressed sheets could be put directly below on the shelf, little pieces in the drawer."

A spinet is closely related to the virginal in the harpsichord family, but it is strung diagonally and is wing-shaped rather than square. Italian in origin, these instruments were particularly popular in England during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The instrument would be made in England and shipped to the purchaser, where the base would be made separately after its arrival in the American colonies.

Eric Pearson was commissioned to craft this Louis XV-style spinet Eloise Kruger identified in one of her many furniture directory reference books.

Mr. Pearson cautioned Eloise Kruger not to touch the spinet's strings. They are .003 inches in diameter and are extremely fragile.

The rosewood spinet features mahogany banding, and the instrument and legs are separate pieces, maintaining the historical accuracy of the miniature.

The pull-out bed is an old invention, as this settee/bed from the early 1700s proves. Eloise Kruger commissioned this settee from Eric Pearson based on one pictured in Wallace Nutting's Furniture Treasury
(New York: Macmillan Company, 1961. Fig. #1634).

Two small metal latches on the front panel secure the piece as a settee. To fold out into a bed, the floor rests slide out using the handles on each side, the latches unhook, and the seat folds outward. Once extended, it can be filled with cushions to accommodate its user.

Tailoring was a valued trade in Shaker communities, and this design is a copy of a tailoring counter found in East Chatham, New York.

The front drawer containing several spools of colored thread spans the entire depth of the piece, and each side drawer extends to half the width of the counter.

This particular design allows for the greatest amount of usable drawer space.

Spice chests were quite common, although this design is particularly remarkable in that it contains a hinged door with working lock and key. Spices would be kept loose in the thirteen block and cove-molded drawers, and access to the valuable spices was restricted by the locking door.

Eloise Kruger commissioned this spice chest from Eric Pearson and wrote to him of her delight upon its arrival:

"I raced [my husband] Carl to get it unpacked, and while I was petting that gorgeous inlaid commode and the unique bombe chest, Carl was losing his mind over the spice chest. He always has to try every tiny drawer, while I yell at him to be careful."

This exquisite writing table features folding box lids, a mechanical component on the bottom to operate the rising pigeonhole carriage, and writing pad that tilts to accommodate the writer.

The lower drawer contains several compartments to store a gentleman's personal accoutrements, and a mirror that rises to double as a dressing table.

The tambour doors are moveable, and the dovetailing on the pigeonhole drawer carriage mark this as a true master's work.

Eloise Kruger purchased this piece from Eric Pearson's personal collection. Mr. Pearson included instructions on how to handle the delicate piece.

This tilt-top supper table is done in the style of Abraham Roentgen. Roentgen was born in Germany but earned his fame working in England where he was admired for his inventive use of mechanical fittings, fine marquetry work, and creatively hidden drawers.

The table contains eight carved plate holders surrounding a beautiful carved foliate design. A working brass latch holds the table in the horizontal position, and it can be tilted up and compactly stored in a room's corner when not in use.

Every centimeter of this table is a tribute to miniature artist Eric Pearson's carving skills; the center foliate design, plate holders, fluted pedestal, acanthus-carved knees on the cabriole legs, and ball and claw feet.

This chess table was commissioned by Eloise Kruger through photographs she supplied to artist Eric Pearson. The table features drop leaves with butterfly hinges and an inlaid satinwood and ebony game board.

The working drawer features a green velvet-lined divided drawer to house the 16 red and 16 white carved ivory chess pieces - the king piece is the tallest standing 5/16 of an inch high.

Eloise Kruger was astonished when she opened the drawer to reveal the tiny chessmen and wrote to Mr. Pearson in a letter dated May 9, 1964, "If I should sneeze or even breathe heavily, I'd spend the next two years on the floor with a magnifying glass looking for the chessmen."

Work tables of this era, also known as a "ladies' work table," came in many designs and were quite popular beginning with the Federal period (c. 1780).

This work table features two working drawers for supplies and a slide out sewing basket. Casters allow the piece to be conveniently stored in the periphery of a room when not in use.

Miniature artisan Eric Pearson's skill at exceptional detail is evident in the turned and reeded legs and the brass inlay molding around the drawers and table sides.