Bay Colony Antiques is proud to offer for sale this fantastic pair of antique Arts & Crafts hand tooled leather bookends. The bookends were made by the Cordova shops of Buffalo NY, and are signed on the back. Buffalo has a long history in the production of leather goods & was home to a number of tanneries over the years. The bookends have a wonderful hand tooled Arts & Crafts motif on the front faces and this is probably our favorite Cordova pattern that we’ve encountered. The bookends possess a strong Art Nouveau influence and exemplify the celebrated Buffalo Nouveau style that was gaining fashion in the early 20th century. The bookend on the left is in very good condition & the Cordova Shop strike is crisp and easy to read. The bookend on the right has some light discoloration and separation towards the base, and an old split on the right side. The Cordova Shop strike is legible, but not as strong as the other bookend. The baize on the bottom is missing on the right one and both bookends have some lifting to the rear baize. The leather & baize can be glued back down but we didn’t have the right product for it and didn’t want to risk damaging the leather by using the wrong adhesive. These are a perfect accessory for an Arts & Crafts / Mission interior and measure 4” wide x 4” deep x 4” tall.
