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Restored Mason Monterey Collection to be Used
at the Chateau, Oregon Caves NM
This page discusses the restoration of the damaged pieces of Mason Monterey furniture as they are to be restored for use again in the Chateau. For a brief history of the furniture and to see the pieces which will be included in the Museum Collection, click here.
Many of the pieces were damaged in the flood of 1964, when a warm rain melted the ice pack and water poured through the Chateau, crashing through windows, taking the A-Frames and many other pieces on a water ride into the canyon, damaging frames and stripping them of their original finish. Most of these very damaged pieces, and a few pieces in varying levels of degradation and wear, are to be used again in the Chateau after treatment.
Because of the requirements for use in a hotel, those pieces destined for the floor of the Chateau were treated outside the parameters of strict conservation techniques, as they had to withstand daily use for another half-century. They were restored using conservation techniques and traditional materials appropriate to the Mason Bros. original methods and intent.
Frames were repaired utilizing appropriate conservation and age-related techniques. Finishes and decorative motifs long gone were repainted using oil paints to match the original paints, or were protected with an oil-paint friendly topcoat.
In most cases the stuffings in upholstered items were beyond cleaning and reutilization, and so new cushions were made. The new upholstery and new strappings, and the creation of new cushions, were all restorative, and were done in alignment with Mason Bros techniques except where to do so would cause a failure within a few months, and explanation are given for those choices, made with the curatorial staff of the NPS.
Also in some cases we chose to use leather which was not original to these pieces, but was used in Monterey Furniture, and, for the NPS's use, is a very durable material.
Note: We are interested in obtaining broken down
Mason
Monterey
(or other brands in the genre) to repair and possibly restore.
Smokey Maple Upholstered Mason Monterey Wingback Chair
Finish was in good condition; however, the original upholstery and innards were long gone. There is an upholstered wingback with original upholstery and damaged finish which will be included in the Museum Collection.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY WINGBACK
Spanish Green Polychrome Mason Monterey Cut-out Slung Leather Seat Ball-turned Chair
This side chair was used in the lobby of the Chateau. The original Spanish Green finish was chemically stripped before the NPS owned the chair, shown left, and a modern topcoat was applied long ago. The original seat was torn, and as the chair was to be reused on the floor of the Chateau, the upholstery was replaced with a new seat and slung back.
This chair was our biggest surprise; originally it was a bright polychrome, as seen in restoration images. The colors were found buried in the crevices of the turnings. The chair is shown in stages, above right & bottom left, & after treatment bottom right.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY
CUT-OUT BALL-TURNED CHAIR
Spanish Green Polychrome Mason Monterey Woven Leather Chair
This side chair was used in the lobby of the Chateau. The original finish was in poor condition. The original woven seat was in poor condition for use, however, is original and will be saved as part of the Museum Collection. Two original decorative nails were missing. The existing back was not appropriate.
MPFC replaced the soft suede sling back with a new appropriate weight leather, and created a new woven leather seat in the surprising manner of Mason Manufacturing. The finish was cleaned with infill along the lines of the original design, protected from further losses, and waxed.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY
CHAIR
Smokey Maple Ruffled Peplum
Mason Monterey Ladder-back Chair
Finish was in fair condition; however, the original upholstery was mouse-eaten and the frame was in pieces. We chose the better parts of this chair to create the museum chair (the twin shown in the Museum Collection), and manufactured the missing parts for this chair, such as a new leg.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY LADDERBACK
Mason Monterey Paddle-arm Chair + Ottoman
Finish was in poor condition due to water damage.
What was left of the original finish was a thin coating of asphaltum pigment in the wood grain, or lightly pigmented finish color. The finish was restored in the manner that Mason originally used, which involves several layers of glaze, shown right. The cushions needed to be replaced for use in the Chateau, though some of the original material was able to be reused.
RESUME FOR THE MASON MONTEREY
CHAIR +
OTTOMAN
The Paddle-arm and Ottoman will normally be displayed as shown left;
however, the underside fabric is quite beautiful and can be shown also, right.
Eleven Polychrome Mason Monterey A-Frame Dining Chairs
Eleven A-Frame Dining Chairs experienced the flood of 1964. These chairs were to be reused in the Chateau, but their structural condition was poor. Finish was severely compromised, and in some cases almost non-existent or refinished. To view our Informal Updates and extensive images, see our page devoted to these beautiful chairs.
Other pages:
- Museum Collection;
- Robert Gamblin's assistance in the restoration and color determination
- Chateau Collection, for reuse in the hotel;
- A-Frame Dining Chairs, which we felt deserved a special page
- Painting the Decorative Elements on the A-Frames
- Paddle-arm Chair
- The Portland showing of the collection;
- Delivery Day at the Oregon Caves!
- and finally, the Oregonian wrote an article on the Collection:"Portland's MPF Conservation team's work shines in the Mason Monterey collection at the Oregon Caves"
For information on the Imperial "Monterey" line
used at Crater Lake National Park,
see our page on the three dozen
pieces previously damaged, and restored by MPFC for the
Crater Lake Science and Learning Center.
We offer a free one hour assessment in your home or office
toward the restoration of your antique, contact us for an appointment.
Contact Information
dkatiepowell [@] aol.com / mitchellrpowell {@} aol.com
So sorry, but we got too much spam -- copy and remove the spaces and []!
503.970.2509 / 541.531.2383
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