Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 64

Greene & Greene : A Mystery Table

BY DARRELL PEART

X he:

. here is no test more demanding on a piece of furniture than that of time and service. The original example of this library table was made in the shop of brothers Peter and John Hall who were responsible for producing the houses and furnishings designed by another set of brothers: Charles and Henry Greene. This piece has served the Hall family for nearly 100 years and is set to go a second hundred. It has passed all tests and is a tribute to the integrity of those who built it.

Most of us have furniture that we grew up with. The family places great value on this furniture, not as a national treasure, but for its history and service. As years pass, the piece is called upon to serve functions other than originally intended. Its purpose has been to serve, so it does not seem heretical to alter the piece for a new function.

This table was converted into a coffee table in the 1950s; the lower

the author encounters a previously unknown table from the workshop of Peter & John Hall.

While conducting research for a book,

12", which included the lower shelf, were cut off. To this day the coffee table is still faithfully serving the Hall family and graces the living

62 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2007

PHOTOS BYTHEAUTHOR; ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARYJANEFAVORITE