posted 01-08-2011 02:15 PM            

According to Carol Boram-Hays, in her excellent "Bringing Modernism Home," the celebrated Art Nouveau artisan Edward Colonna (you can read an interesting biography at [<gone from the internet> mcrwy.com/collectn/woodpas/mlsw63/colonna.html]Edward Colonna) spent several years in Dayton, Ohio designing railway cars. While there he also did interior design work for prosperous Dayton residents including Joseph Thresher, who owned a varnishing company.

Joseph's son Brainerd Bliss Thresher (1870-1950) "inspired by the craftsman ideal of the importance of art making, took up metalworking as a hobby. In his spare time he created works that emphasized sinuous, organic lines and rich surfaces, such as the screen inlaid with the figure of a peacock [now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]."

A partial Thresher timeline from Boram-Hays' book shows his Arts & Crafts roots:

• 1892 Graduated from Denison University, Granville, OH
  
• 1902 Cofounded Dayton Society of Arts and Crafts, Dayton, OH
  
• 1903 Lectured at National Arts Club, New York
  
• 1919 Cofounded Dayton Art Institute
  
• 1927 Exhibited at Friends of Art House, Baltimore, MD
  
• 1934 Published A Brief Introduction to Japanese Art

"New York is represented by Helen Ward of Mamaroneck, Rhode Island by the Luthers of Providence, Wisconsin by Caroline Seton Ogden of Milwaukee, Massachusetts by Arthur J. Stone of Gardner, George F. Parker of Taunton, and the Handicraft Shop of Boston. Ohio makes a goodly record with Brainerd Thresher of Dayton, and Jane Carson and Frances Barnum of Cleveland. California upholds her standard with Charles F. Eaton of Santa Barbara and his three associates."

The article complimented Thresher, saying his work "makes a brilliant showing" and added that:

"To many visitors at the Institute the case containing the Dayton jewelry has proved the most fascinating one in the exhibition. That Mr. Thresher has been a careful student of modern French methods is shown by his designs in silver and gold and the way in which he handles this medium. That he has been influenced by Japanese models is demonstrated by his work in ivory and coral. United with this grasp of French and Japanese designs is an individuality which is wholly Thresher -- a characteristic which may be noted in the reproduction of a half-dozen or more of his buckles, pins, and pendants. His ivory and coral slides and buckles, which are not illustrated, are very charming in color, showing the deep mellow tones of old ivory, combined with the orange-pink tints of pale coral. These are among the best of Mr. Thresher's things, and show him at high-water mark. Some of his work in gold is over-brilliant, suggesting the glittering finish of the professional jeweler. We miss the marvelous red golds and green golds and coppery golds found in the jewels of Mrs. Wynne, Mrs. Klapp, and the recent productions of Miss Leonide Lavaron. But Mr. Thresher has come to stay -- we hope -- and hereafter it is safe to predict that he must be reckoned with in all arts and crafts matters. "

Here are some examples of jewelry by Thresher included in the House Beautiful review: