Stickley marks tell you two things at once: which Stickley made the piece, and roughly when. Gustav Stickley's furniture carries a joiner's compass with the motto "Als ik kan," first as a red decal and later on paper labels and other marks, while L. & J.G. Stickley used its own shop marks, including Leopold's clamp emblem, before the company eventually joined clamp and compass in one logo. Look on the backs of case pieces, inside and under drawers, and under the seats or on the back seat rails of chairs and rockers.
The trouble is that "Stickley" covers several companies run by five brothers over more than a century, and the marks changed many times. Below are the ones you can pin to a date with good evidence, where to find them, and what to do when a piece has none.
Five Brothers Put the Stickley Name on Several Companies
Gustav, Albert, Charles, Leopold and John George Stickley grew up in Wisconsin and began making furniture together in the late 1870s at an uncle's factory in Pennsylvania. Over the next four decades every brother worked with each of the others in at least one venture, but never all five at once. In 1883 they founded the Stickley Brothers Company in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and from there the firms multiplied.
For identification, three names matter most. Gustav Stickley's companies (United Crafts, then the Craftsman Workshops) made the furniture most collectors mean by "Stickley," until his business failed in 1915. L. & J.G. Stickley, founded by Leopold and John George in Fayetteville, New York, is the company still making Stickley furniture today. And Stickley Brothers Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, issued its own catalogs under the name "Quaint Furniture" around 1905. If you see "Quaint" on a tag, you are looking at that Grand Rapids firm, not at Gustav or at L. & J.G. Stickley.
Gustav Stickley's Compass Marks
Gustav's emblem is a joiner's compass, the woodworker's dividers, drawn around the Dutch motto "Als ik kan." His earliest version is a red decal. On a chest in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it appears at the center of the back of the bottom board: the compass encloses the motto, and "Stickley" is written in script inside a rectangle where the compass points end. The Met dates that decal to 1902 and 1903, which makes it one of the most precise dating tools you will find.
Paper labels followed. A Gustav Stickley rocker in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has a red compass decal on the back seat rail and a paper label under the seat that reads "Made by Gustav Stickley in the CRAFTSMAN WORKSHOPS" with the Eastwood, New York address, a line stating that "CRAFTSMAN" is a registered trademark, and the model name and number, "'CRAFTSMAN' Arm Rocker No. 311 1/2." The museum dates the chair to about 1904 to 1914.
Stickley's own guide to shop marks and notations, which draws on the director of the Stickley Museum, dates Gustav's marks in three groups: United Crafts, 1901 to 1903; Craftsman Workshops, 1905 to 1912; and a later Craftsman Workshops mark used from 1912 to 1916. It adds that the label Gustav used from about 1907 to 1912 served as a form of warranty if a customer was dissatisfied.
L. & J.G. Stickley Marks From Onondaga Shops to Today
Leopold and John George sold their early furniture as the Onondaga Shops, and in 1906 launched their "Handcraft" line of Mission furniture. That same guide gives these dates for the company and its successors:
- Onondaga Shops: 1904 to 1906
- L. & J.G. Stickley shop marks: 1906 to 1912, then a new version from 1912 to 1917
- Stickley Associated Cabinetmakers, the venture Gustav joined with his brothers: 1916 to 1919
- Burned-in L. & J.G. Stickley brand: 1926 to 1977
- Paper label, shown on a Cherry Valley chair: 1935 to 1950
- 50th Anniversary medallion: 1950
- "Piecrust" logo: 1985 to 2009
- Mission Reissue metal label: 1989 to the present
- Current logo: 2008 to the present
That last group matters more than people expect. A Mission design with a metal label is likely a modern reissue made from 1989 on, built to the old patterns but not an antique. It is good furniture with its own value, just a different conversation from a 1910 original.
Where to Look on a Rocker, a Chair or a Case Piece
Stickley rocker identification starts underneath. Turn the rocker on its side on a blanket and check the underside of the seat for a paper label or its remnants, then look at the back seat rail and the inside faces of the rails for a decal or brand. A surviving label may give you the model number, which you can match against reprinted Stickley catalogs to confirm the form.
On dressers, sideboards and bookcases, check the back panel, the underside of the top and the inside of each drawer. The guide points out two other marks that are easy to miss. Hand-fitters stamp their initials on the back of a cabinet, usually near the top left. And numbers on the bottoms of drawers record which opening each drawer was fitted to, so a set of matching numbers is a good sign the drawers are original to the case.
Take photos as you go, in raking light from a flashlight held low to the surface. Faint brands and decal outlines that vanish under a ceiling light often show up clearly that way.
When the Mark Is Missing or Doubtful
Many genuine pieces have lost their labels. Paper wears off, decals get scrubbed away during cleaning, and refinishers strip both. A missing mark does not prove a piece is a copy, and a mark on its own does not prove it is genuine.
Treat the mark as one clue among several. Does a crisp, bright label sit on a piece whose wood and finish show a century of wear? Does the mark match the period of the design and the construction? Are the joints what you would expect from the maker? When those answers line up, the mark adds real weight. When they do not, ask for a second opinion before you buy, sell or insure the piece.
Our guide to what used Stickley furniture sells for explains how marks, finish and condition feed into value, and the history of Stickley furniture fills in the family story behind the companies.
How to Protect the Marks You Have
Never peel, wash or glue a paper label. Dust around it with a soft dry brush, keep it out of direct sun, and if it is lifting, ask a furniture conservator to stabilize it. Do not refinish the surface a mark sits on. The mark is part of the piece's record, and once it is gone it cannot honestly be replaced.
The Stickley Museum is free and open to the public on the second floor of the original L. & J.G. Stickley factory at 300 Orchard Street in Fayetteville, New York, and its contact address is history@stickley.com. Photos of the marks, the back and the joinery give anyone helping you the most to work with.
As Atlanta's authorized Stickley dealer, Mission Motif can show you how today's Stickley pieces are marked and built, side by side with what you have at home. Bring photos of your piece to the showroom on Miami Circle, or call 404-370-1505 first and we will make time to look through them with you.
Reading Stickley Marks With Confidence
Start by working out which company you are dealing with, then match the mark to its period, then check that the construction and wear tell the same story. A red compass decal, a Craftsman Workshops paper label or an L. & J.G. Stickley brand can narrow a date to a few years, and a metal reissue label tells you the piece is modern.
If you are adding new Stickley furniture to a room that already holds older pieces, our design team can help you match wood species and finish so the two generations sit comfortably together. Visit our Stickley collection online or come by 747 Miami Circle NE, Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm. You can also reach us at 404-370-1505.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the compass mark on Stickley furniture mean?
It is Gustav Stickley's emblem, a pair of woodworker's dividers drawn around his motto. The Met dates its earliest red decal form to 1902 and 1903. Later Stickley logos combined Gustav's compass with Leopold's clamp, so a compass alone does not always mean the piece is from Gustav's own shops.
Is "Quaint" furniture made by Stickley?
It was made by a Stickley firm, but not the one most people mean. The Grand Rapids company run under the Stickley Brothers name issued "Quaint Furniture" catalogs around 1905. It is separate from Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Workshops and from L. & J.G. Stickley of Fayetteville.
How can I tell Gustav Stickley from L. & J.G. Stickley?
Start with the mark: a compass with "Als ik kan" points to Gustav, while L. & J.G. used Onondaga Shops, Handcraft and L. & J.G. Stickley marks. Without a mark, compare the design against period catalogs from both companies, since many forms were close.
Does a Stickley piece without a label have less value?
A surviving original mark usually makes a piece easier to attribute, which buyers and appraisers weigh. An unmarked piece can still be genuine, but it needs stronger evidence from design, construction and history to be attributed with confidence.
What is the metal tag on my newer Stickley piece?
A metal label on a Mission design usually means it belongs to the Mission Reissue line, which Stickley dates from 1989 to the present. These pieces follow early designs but are modern furniture, made by the same L. & J.G. Stickley company.