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John
S. Bradstreet & Company
As one of Minnesota’s premier interior design firms of the turn of the century, the work of John S. Bradstreet
& Company or the 'Crafthouse' has been found
in several prominent homes in South Minneapolis as well as within museum collections. Bradstreet’s interiors were sophisticated as he drew inspiration from numerous trips to Europe and Asia. Much like the design reform movements that occured in Europe such
as England's Arts and Crafts and later the Art Nouveau era at the fin-de-siecle, Bradstreets interiors were
all encompassing and aimed to give the applied arts a higher status, one that would exist along side painting and
sculpture. His interiors included furnishings, draperies,
carpets, lighting, tile and stained glass, ‘giving special
attention to this department of their business’ as stated in Bradstreet's 1905 brochure. Other European trends that
influenced Bradstreet's Crafthouse was evident in the priority stressed on the handmade over mass-produced and a high
quality of craftsmanship. His showroom included wares from Tiffany, lighting that included Quezal and Steuben,
tiles and ceramics from Grueby, and handmade objects produced by the Minneapolis Crafts Guild. Along
side, Bradstreet displayed a collection of original antiques and fine art that he himself selected. Including objects
of international and exotic flair, Bradstreet provided Minneapolis with high quality and an education in taste and refinement,
hosting art exhibits and eventually assisted in the development of the Minneapolis Art Association which later became our
own Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  Bradstreet is most remembered for his furniture design and his 'sugi'
wood finish. With a desire to incorporate only the finest in contemporary design and materials into his interiors, Bradstreet
found it difficult to find products that he felt were suitable, so he developed his own. Fashioning his Crafthouse
after William Morris, Bradstreet employed artisians to create his furniture line and the 'Sugi' technique of carved cypress
paneling and furniture. Examples of Bradstreets 'Sugi' work can be found at the Minneapolis Institute
of Arts who houses a complete example from the Prindle house in Duluth and the Minnesota Historical Society, both
who have one of the seven known 'Lotus' table's in their collection.
Over the years, Architectural Antiques has taken great pride in having inventory known to be historically
significant, like the pair of Bradstreet 'Wisteria' sidelights we recently came across. Upon their arrival, Architectural
Antiques went to work using knowledge of prominent design trends during the turn-of-the-century in Minneapolis
with the available historical research and data, and later identifed these antique architectural elements as the work
of Bradstreet from the Alfred E. Dickey residence. Several hours where spent in the archive library of the University
of Minnesota, paging through old Architectural Records and at the Minneapolis Permit Office, pulling the original building
permits. looking for a commonality with the Wisteria sidelighits and other known Bradstreet works. Luckily, in the Minneapolis area, several homes still preserve Bradstreet’s design legacies and provide us
with a visual learning tool to identify his work as over the last century, there are few records or drawings that remain
to formally provide provinance to Bradstreet’s work, clientele or patrons. Our project took an exciting turn when we
compared these homes who had rooms designed by Bradstreet and discovered a common architect, William Kenyon. More
exciting yet, was viewing Kenyon's own home built in 1906, which contained windows, very similar to our Wisteria, as well
as multiple examples of Bradstreet's 'sugi' technique. Pulling our multiple examples together, carefully documenting
and photographing, our sidelights ended up going to Christies in New York, which proudly were featured on the cover of their
'Important 20th Century Design' catalog as the first example of John S. Bradstreet Stained and Leaded glass to go up for auction. It's what every antique hunter and lover dreams of, the ultimate
find, the unique and special, the 'detective' work that leads you to know that a found treasure could end up
in a museum collection or lovingly re-introduced into a residence! And imagine, like much of antique architectural
salvage, these windows (and I fear the remainder of the room) almost ended up in the trash! Bradstreet, Thurber & Company, pamphlet, 1884. Cover, p.6 Courtesy of Minneapolis Public Library, Special
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