The Star Dust Saga: An Introduction

Earlier today I ran across a beautiful set of dressers in a thrift store that's design was obviously influenced by Conant Ball and Heywood Wakefield. What was really interesting, however, were the markings on the back of the pieces: 410 Star Dust. If you collect Russel Wright designed furniture, than you're most likely familiar with the line of furniture Wright collectors for years have been calling 515 Star Dust. There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about these Star Dust furniture lines, but my recent acquisition of some paperwork from the furniture's original manufacturer, the Forest Furniture Company of Wilkesboro, NC, which sheds a little more than moonlight on Star Dust's origins. One item of real importance is that Star Dust is not the name of the furniture line, but of a finish used on several of the company's product lines. In addition to Star Dust, other colors included Forest Tan and Red Maple. As it turns out, what we have been calling "515 Star Dust" is actually two suites of modern maple furniture that the manufacturer references simply as Suite 515 and Suite 516. This discovery of this third completely different line of furniture with the "Star Dust" markings, presumably called Suite 410, very powerfully reinforces what we have learned about Forest Furniture's furniture finishes through these few documents. There is a lot more information forthcoming about Forest Furniture, Suite 515, and Russel Wright, which I will post as time permits.

  • 11.17.09

Antay Bilgutay commented: I love the look of these dressers. How much were they asking?

  • 11.17.09

Scott commented: They were dirt cheap: $40 each. If we needed another bedroom set, I'd have bought them without a second thought. We've already needed to get rid of a bunch of stuff to make room for the nursery, though, so two more dressers is pretty close to the last thing I need to be lugging home.

robert devine commented: Hi Scott,

Great sleuthing! please keep us informed might want to post a little something on the russel wright archives listserve because as you know this line seems to be a cause for discussion about every 6 months or so for the last 10 years! It must have been sold through a major retailer by the amount relatively speaking that seems to turn up around here. Did they happen to mention a designer?
best,
robert

  • 11.18.09

Scott commented: No mention of a designer unfortunately. The Forset Furniture Company's archives burned in 1940 then again in 1964, after which the business folded. All records were lost. I've spoken to family of the gentleman who was president of the company, and none of them had any recollection of Wright's involvement with the company at all, but I'm afraid that might be the closest I get to a definitive yes or no answer.

I'm writing up a longer article with a few more details which I'll post to the listserv ASAP.

robert devine commented: Hi Scott,

I was just looking through William Hennessey's 1983 MIT Press rag and noticed at the end where he lists selected designs of Wright he mentions under Home Furniture Sears, Roebuck, Chicago Illinois 1942 Knockdown line of furniture Any idea what that might have been? I seem to recall an ad in Popular Mechanic's around that time however I dont believe it was from Sears

best,
robert

  • 11.18.09

Scott commented: Yes, Robert, I do know that line of knockdown furniture. Drawings for it exist in the Syracuse archives, and it very obviously it isn't Forest Furniture's Suite 515. The Sears knockdown line never made it into production.

There's also no evidence that Suite 515 was ever sold by Sears. I've begun going through all the Sears catalogs year by year, and as far as I can tell there Suite 515 was never available fro Sears. I haven't finished this research yet, but other people have previously searched these catalogs without success so I am fairly certain I won't find it.

About the Archives ...

These news archives span back to Ars Longa's inception in August of 2004. Due to this longevity, many of the older posts may feature external links that have gone dead. Over time websites move pages and some even close shop altogether. I apologize for these inconsistencies, but in the interest in maintaining a full archive even entries whose links have expired will remain in place on Ars Longa.

Scott Lindberg

Scott Lindberg
Sllab Modern
scott@sllab.net