1 ‘Coleridge’ bedroom suite (bed and dresser unit) circa 1950s

designed by George Templeton

of George Templeton and Co. Ltd., Christchurch

for J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd., Christchurch

manufactured and retailed by J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd., Christchurch

Australian quilted maple, silver glass,

purchased with funds provided by the Charles Disney Art Trust, 1998.12.1

J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd., was a Christchurch based manufacturing and retail outlet established in 1889 by John Martin Mitchell, a Cornish born chairmaker.

Mitchell’s original workplace and shop was in a shed were the New City Hotel now stands at 527 Colombo Street.

By the 1940s, the company was managed by John Martin Mitchell, son of the founder.

The company had, by then, expanded its factory to about 6500 ft² with a retail outlet of approximately the same size. The centrally located factory was in Bath Street and the retail outlet was alongside in Colombo Street.

The factory had a cabinet making shop, an upholstery area and employed anywhere between twelve to sixty staff in the factory and seven in the retail outlet. At one time the factory employed four French polishers.

Mitchell’s had gained a reputation for making top quality traditional furniture so much so that they had people fly down from Auckland to furnish their homes.

J M Mitchell’s sons’ Ray and Ron also came to work for what was very much a family business and have provided some of the background information for this proposal.

Mitchell’s did not usually commission designs as they were more interested in making their own lines. They did however occasionally encourage other smaller manufacturers to supply the store. This enabled a number of smaller Christchurch manufacturers a start in the business including the Rush Brothers, Ian Taylor Ltd., and the McDougall Brothers - all of whom are no longer in existence.

George Templeton of George Templeton and Co. Ltd., Christchurch designed the suite for J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd. who commissioned him to develop and make the piece to be sold under their store label. It was an ‘exclusive’ suite.

Ray Mitchell went to work for George Templeton because he specialized in veneer work. Templeton’s were also renowned for being able to produce unusual cabinetwork. An impressed ‘R’ at the back of the dressers top drawer identifies Ray Mitchell’s pieces.

It has been said that only six - eight suites were ever made although Mr Sinclair, an apprentice furniture polisher for Mitchell’s at the time, established that there were, to his recollection, seven made.

Ray Mitchell remembers the suite being made in the 1940’s when he first used to visit the shop. Sinclair, has seen photographs of this suite and has suggested that it was made in 1950. The design was manufactured between the late 1940s until circa 1956.

This piece is finished with Australian quilted maple. Only 2-3 finished with this veneer. The remainders were finished in birds eye maple - both veneers are Australian woods and were popular at the time. The ‘table tops’ had protective glass covers supplied. The deep-buttoned stool was upholstered in the purchasers’ choice of fabric - usually velour. The handles on the bedside tables and dressing table were usually bones. The suite could be purchased with a double-door wardrobe - but this was a standard wardrobe that would accompany all the bedroom suites available in the shop.

They had to have a special press made for the round cabinets that were laminated and veneered in a press. They were produced until one of the apprentices wrecked the matt/mold. It was decided it was too expensive to purchase a replacement matt (£10,000). There was a mold for the ‘table’ and molds for the left and right bead dressing table and bedhead sections.

The bedroom suite was fairly expensive when released and it retailed for £650. As it was an expensive suite, only people with money could afford to buy them and it had limited appeal because of its design. Ray Mitchell recalls one suite being sold to a woman in an apartment in Victoria Square, Christchurch on the understanding that if it would fit she would purchase it.

Because of series of fires in the 40s and 50s, Mitchell’s Christchurch manufacturing arm finally ceased production.

A branch retail outlet was opened in Dunedin in 1967. It was located in Moray Place opposite the Old Saint James’ under the Savoy Restaurant. Ron Mitchell managed it until it closed in 1989.

Even though the stock could be replaced with insurance after a devastating store fire in 26 August 1976, the firm decided that rebuilding of the Christchurch shop was prohibitive and they finally closed.

The bedroom suite is an opportunistic find and is a rare example for both its commercial manufacturing history and its great design merit. We know have fairly conclusive information relating to the identification and manufacture of these pieces.

The leap towards this work by J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd. of the 1950s exemplifies a different approach to design and manufacture. It signifies New Zealand’s search for modernist possibilities of the potential use of alternative material and processes (lamination) in well designed and semi mass-manufactured furniture.

manufacturing designer/retailer

company letterheads - see object file

6 ‘Coleridge’ bedroom suite (bed and dresser unit) circa 1950s

designed by George Templeton

of George Templeton and Co. Ltd., Christchurch

for J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd., Christchurch

manufactured and retailed by J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd., Christchurch

Australian quilted maple, silver glass,

purchased with funds provided by the Charles Disney Art Trust, 1998.12.1

J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd., was a Christchurch based manufacturing and retail outlet established in 1889 by John Martin Mitchell, a Cornish born chairmaker.

Mitchell’s original workplace and shop was in a shed were the New City Hotel now stands at 527 Colombo Street.

By the 1940s, the company was managed by John Martin Mitchell, son of the founder.

The company had, by then, expanded its factory to about 6500 ft² with a retail outlet of approximately the same size. The centrally located factory was in Bath Street and the retail outlet was alongside in Colombo Street.

The factory had a cabinet making shop, an upholstery area and employed anywhere between twelve to sixty staff in the factory and seven in the retail outlet. At one time the factory employed four French polishers.

Mitchell’s had gained a reputation for making top quality traditional furniture so much so that they had people fly down from Auckland to furnish their homes.

J M Mitchell’s sons’ Ray and Ron also came to work for what was very much a family business and have provided some of the background information for this proposal.

Mitchell’s did not usually commission designs as they were more interested in making their own lines. They did however occasionally encourage other smaller manufacturers to supply the store. This enabled a number of smaller Christchurch manufacturers a start in the business including the Rush Brothers, Ian Taylor Ltd., and the McDougall Brothers - all of whom are no longer in existence.

The suite was designed by George Templeton of George Templeton and Co. Ltd., Christchurch for J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd. who commissioned him to develop and make the piece to be sold under their store label. It was an ‘exclusive’ suite.

Ray Mitchell went to work for George Templeton because he specialized in veneer work. Templeton’s were also renowned for being able to produce unusual cabinet work. Ray Mitchell’s pieces are identified by an impressed ‘R’ at the back of the dressers top drawer.

It has been said that only six - eight suites were ever made although Mr Sinclair, an apprentice furniture polisher for Mitchell’s at the time, established that there were, to his recollection, seven made.

Ray Mitchell remembers the suite being made in the 1940’s when he first used to visit the shop. Sinclair, has seen photographs of this suite and has suggested that it was made in 1950. The design was manufactured between the late 1940s until circa 1956.

This piece is finished with Australian quilted maple. Only 2-3 finished with this veneer. The remainders were finished in birds eye maple - both veneers are Australian woods and were popular at the time. The ‘table tops’ had protective glass covers supplied. The deep-buttoned stool was upholstered in the purchasers’ choice of fabric - usually velour. The handles on the bedside tables and dressing table were usually bones. The suite could be purchased with a double-door wardrobe - but this was a standard wardrobe that would accompany all the bedroom suites available in the shop.

They had to have a special press made for the round cabinets that were laminated and veneered in a press. They were produced until one of the apprentices wrecked the matt/mold. It was decided it was too expensive to purchase a replacement matt (£10,000). There was a mold for the ‘table’ and molds for the left and right bead dressing table and bedhead sections.

The bedroom suite was fairly expensive when released and it retailed for £650. As it was an expensive suite, only people with money could afford to buy them and it had limited appeal because of its design. Ray Mitchell recalls one suite being sold to a woman in an apartment in Victoria Square, Christchurch on the understanding that if it would fit she would purchase it.

Because of series of fires in the 40s and 50s, Mitchell’s Christchurch manufacturing arm finally ceased production.

A branch retail outlet was opened in Dunedin in 1967. It was located in Moray Place opposite the Old Saint James’ under the Savoy Restaurant. Ron Mitchell managed it until it closed in 1989.

Even though the stock could be replaced with insurance after a devastating store fire in 26 August 1976, the firm decided that rebuilding of the Christchurch shop was prohibitive and they finally closed.

The bedroom suite is an opportunistic find and is a rare example for both its commercial manufacturing history and its great design merit. We know have fairly conclusive information relating to the identification and manufacture of these pieces.

The leap towards this work by J M Mitchell and Co. Ltd. of the 19 50s exemplifies a different approach to design and manufacture. It signifies New Zealand’s search for modernist possibilities of the potential use of alternative material and processes (lamination) in well designed and semi mass-manufactured furniture.

manufacturing designer/retailer

photos available

company letterheads - see object file