Nina Gray
Leon Marcotte: Cabinetmaker and Interior Decorator

American Furniture 1994

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Ringuet-Leprince, Marcotte and Co. shop, 343–347 Fourth Avenue, New York, 1854. The showroom was separate from the factory, which was located at 55 West 16th Street. (Collection of the New-York Historical Society.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Marcotte & Co. shop, 29 East 17th Street, New York, ca. 1865. The Marcotte shop was an elegant beaux arts building located on Union Square just off Fifth Avenue, a fashionable address for the period.(Collection of the New-York Historical Society.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Armchair attributed to Auguste-Émile Ringuet-Leprince & L. Marcotte, New York or Paris, ca. 1845. Applewood or pearwood, ebonized walnut, beech, and gilt bronze mounts. 38 1/2" x 23 1/4" x 26 1/8". (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Douglas Williams, 1969, acc. 69.262.3.) All rights reserved, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Ballroom in Chateau-Sur-Mer, Newport, Rhode Island. (Courtesy, Preservation Society of Newport County.)

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Armchair by Ringuet-Leprince & L. Marcotte, New York, 1856–1857. Rosewood. H. 38 1/2", W. 24 1/2", D. 22 1/2". (Courtesy, Armsmear; photo, E. Irving Blomstram.)

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Center table attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1865. Beech with hickory, aspen, white pine, and oak. H. 30 1/2", W. 51 1/2", D. 37 1/2". (Brooklyn Museum, acc. 86.4.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Side chair from a set of six attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1860. Maple with pine. H. 37 3/4", W. 20 3/4", D. 17 1/2". The tufted silk upholstery, four fluted legs, and high-quality mounts all show that this was one of the fancier suites of Louis XVI furniture. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. D. Chester Noyes, 1968, acc. 68.69.6–11). All rights reserved, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Side chair attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1865. Beech. H. 36 1/2", W. 20 1/4", D. 16 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Armchair attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1865. Beech. H. 38 1/4", W. 21", D. 19 3/4". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
     

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Side chair attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1860. Beech. H. 38", W. 21 3/4", D. 19". (Private collection; photo, Glenn Castellano.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Side chair by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1869. Cherry. H. 33 1/2", W. 18", D. 18". (Courtesy, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photo, Peter Hill.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Bill of sale from L. Marcotte & Co. to Eliphalet Wood, New York, 1869. The bill head delineates the range of services offered by Marcotte, as well as the address of the Parisian branch. (Courtesy, Winterthur Library.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Cabinet attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1860. Oak, poplar, pearwood and applewood veneer. H. 42 7/8", W. 72 3/16", D. 21 1/4". (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Douglas M. Moffat, 1968, acc. 68.165.1a,b.) All rights reserved, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
     

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Library table attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1860-1872. Walnut, amboina pine, maple, poplar, ash, cherry, hornbeam . H. 30 3/4", W. 50", D. 29". (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, 1934, acc. 34.140.1.) All rights reserved, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Library table attributed to L. Marcotte & Co., New York, ca. 1870. Walnut, burl walnut veneer, and satinwood with oak and fruitwood. H. 30 7/8", W. 47", D. 27 1/8". (Private collection; photo, Glenn Castellano.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Work table by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1869. Walnut and burl walnut veneer. H. 27", Diam. 18 1/2". This table is particularly “French” with delicately proportioned legs joined by a gracefully curved stretcher. (Photograph by David Bohl in addition to Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, acc. 1969.2126.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Engraving of a sideboard made by Ringuet-Leprince & L. Marcotte for the Crystal Palace Exhibition, New York, 1853. (Silliman and Goodrich, The World of Science, Art and Industry, [New York, 1853], p. 47.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Chair by Ringuet-Leprince & L. Marcotte, New York, 1857. Oak. H. 44 1/2", W. 25 1/2", D. 25 1/4". (Courtesy, Armsmear; photo, E. Irving Blomstram.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Desk by Ringuet-Leprince & L. Marcotte, New York, 1857. Walnut, oak, and mahogany with pine. H. 30", W. 60", D. 34". (Courtesy, Armsmear; photo, E. Irving Blomstram.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Side chair by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1862. Butternut. H. 35 1/4", W. 18 3/4", D. 18 1/2".( Photograph by David Bohl in addition to Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, acc. 1969.767.1; photo, David Bohl.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Detail of the side chair illustrated in fig. 20. (Photo, Nina Gray.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Suite of furniture by L. Marcotte & Co., New York , 1869. The suite is composed of a bedstead, armoire, dressing table, two night stands, a chaise longue, a commode, six side chairs, a linen press, and two wardrobe cabinets. (Courtesy, Preservation Society of Newport County.)
     

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Library in the LeGrand Lockwood mansion, Norwalk, Connecticut, photograph ca. 1870. Financial and railroad entrepeneur, LeGrand Lockwood built the house in 1869. The divan and looking glass are on the left. (Courtesy, Lockwood Matthews Mansion.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Detail of the library in the Lockwood mansion. The ceiling is particularly elegant and illusionistic in the manner in which the eight pointed stars surround the crosses. The blue and gold wallpaper is embossed like Moroccan leather. (Courtesy, Lockwood Matthews Mansion; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Engraving of a cabinet by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1878. (Art Journal, 1878.)
     

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Dining room in the McCormick mansion, Chicago, 1880. The walls were covered with antique tapestry and the seating was upholstered with green stamped leather. (Courtesy, State Historical Society of Wisconsin.)
     

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Drawing of a sideboard by Leon Marcotte, New York, 1877. Pencil on paper. (Courtesy, State Historical Society of Wisconsin.)

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Hall in the McCormick mansion, Chicago, 1880. (Courtesy, State Historical Society of Wisconsin.)

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Board of Officers Room in the Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 1880. (Woodcut from the Decorator and Furnisher, May 1885. Courtesy, Seventh Regiment Fund; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)
     

  • Figure 30
    Figure 30

    Presiding officer’s chair by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1880. Mahogany. H. 64", W. 31", D. 29". (Courtesy, Seventh Regiment Fund; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    “Mexican” chair by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1869. Ebonized wood. H. 35 1/2", W. 20 1/2", D. 30". The plump scroll on the curve of the back is typical of Marcotte’s work. (Photograph by David Bohl in addition to Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, acc. 1969. 2908.)

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    “Chinese” side chair by L. Marcotte & Co., New York, 1869. Gilded wood. H. 28 5/8", W. 20 1/4", D. 20 7/8". (Photograph by David Bohl in addition to Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, acc. 1969.3528.)

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Library in the McCormick mansion, Chicago, 1880. (Courtesy, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, photo ca. 1880.)
     

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Music room in the McCormick mansion, 1880. (Courtesy, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, photo ca. 1880.)

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Billiard room in the William K. Vanderbilt house, New York, 1882–1883. (Illustration from John Vrenburgh Van Pelt, A Monograph of the William K. Vanderbilt House [New York: privately published, 1925], pl. 18.)

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Billiard room in the William K. Vanderbilt house, New York,1882-1883. (Illustration from John Vrenburgh Van Pelt, A Monograph of the William K. Vanderbilt House [New York: privately published, 1925], p.58.)