Friends of the Rohlfs’ House (FORH) is currently attempting to acquire yet another piece of Rohlfs-designed furniture for its house museum collection. If successfully acquired, the rocking chair would eventually find a home at the restored and converted home (on Park Street in Allentown) of Charles Rohlfs and Anna Katherine Green, which will one day be open to the public for viewing.
A year ago, FORH successfully purchased a pair of Rohlfs-designed bookcases from Christie’s (learn more). Those bookcases, which came from the library/dining room on Park Street, are now being lovingly restored by an expert in Buffalo, as FORH continues to work with the owner of the house to finalize a purchase. The bookcases will be unveiled this coming fall, at which time the sponsors who helped to make the purchase possible will be acknowledged.
The Rohlfs’ House is particularly interesting in that Charles Rohlfs and Anna Katherine Green were considered “a veritable turn-of-the-last century power couple.”
- Charles Rohlfs is one of the foremost furniture designers, of the Art Moderne style, in American history
- Anna Katherine Green is the first woman to write a series of mystery novels
As for the rocking chair (view auction), following is a description by FORH:
[The rocking chair] came from the library on Park Street and may have been used by Anna (who was a knitter) as a sewing chair. FORH is eager to see it returned to the House, and welcome any interested patrons to make a donation, which can be done through the Allentown Association.
FORH welcomes any financial support, which can be made through the group’s fiscal sponsor, the Allentown Association, a 501c3, so donations can be tax-deductible. Interested parties can contact the Allentown Association by emailing contact@allentown.org, or calling (716) 881-1024. Also, visit Friends of the Rohlfs’ House on Facebook for further information, or to direct message the group.