Feature: Ed Rosenstengel & F. H. Byrne, Queensland furniture makers
The John Oxley Library holds two remarkable collections of images relating to furniture manufacture in Queensland between the years 1910 and 1940. These pictures illustrate work by the well known master Edmund Rosenstengel and also furnishing styles manufactured by F. H. Byrne in Fortitude Valley in the 1930s. To complement these we have included a 1930s catalogue of furniture by Hicks & Co., a Brisbane company.
Edmund Rosenstengel
Edmund Rosenstengel (1887-1962) was born in Toowoomba. He learned his trade as a cabinet-maker apprenticed to the business of Rosenstengel & Kleimeyer. He was later to work in Sydney, Auckland, Vancouver and Grand Rapids (USA), as well as in England and Europe, before returning to Toowoomba in 1911. In 1922, he came to Brisbane and commenced business on his own account in Fortitude Valley, where he was to remain until his retirement in 1958.
His work was distinguished by the use of Queensland timbers, particularly Queensland maple and silky oak, together with elaborate carving and marquetry inlay. His best known public commissions include the invitation to furnish a bedroom at Government House, Brisbane, for the visit of the Duke of Gloucester in 1934, and a jewel case intended for the (then) Duchess of York. (Information taken from: K. Fahy and A. Simpson, Australian furniture: Pictorial history and dictionary 1788-1938, 1998). Rosenstengel operated out of premises located at 524 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, from 1922 to 1958.
F. H. Byrne
F. H. Byrne, upholsterer, had premises on Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley (located between Amelia and Leichhardt Streets) operating from 1925 to 1932 (Information taken from: Queensland Post Office Directories, 1925-1932). The firm was established by Byrne and Keeper in 1913 and continued in various forms until 1960, when F. H. Byrne died and the company was taken over by his daughter and Alistair Macpherson. The company was wound up in 1984.
Images have also been taken from an advertising catalogue published by Sullivan Advertising Service on behalf of John Hicks and Co. Ltd. The "Hixco" catalogue features a complete collection of household furniture and accessories for the 1930s home, and is a complementary addition to the Rosenstengel and Byrne images.
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Last updated: 18th November 2009
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