immaculate chicago athletic building chandelier - from product catalog to building installation.

after photodocumenting the chicago athletic association building for weeks now, i focused my camera on the unusual and greatly oversized cast plaster chandelier at the foot of the grand staircase leading to the upper level or balcony of the swimming or "plunge" room. i suspected the chandelier and the matching candelabra sconces and heavily ornamented coffered ceiling, replete with highly detailed rosettes, were likely fabricated and installed by the decorators' supply company - perhaps under healy and millet's guidance. after reviewing a few of the company's early hardcopy catalogs i have in my research libraray, i was thrilled to discover not only the chandelier, but a full-page, black and white photograph of the ceiling fixture and other plaster ornament after it had been installed in the building. although the plaster ornament is now caked in several layers of white paint, i suspect it may have had a polychrome finish, as indicated in the "product" photo and description on the following page of the catalog. from what i can ascertain, the fixture(s) were not unique to the athletic club. i have yet to discover another commission where the grand chandelier may have been used, but in time that might change. the chicago-based decorators' supply company was founded in 1883 when simon strahn and richard c. foster established a partnership to manufacture "artistic decorative accessories" in chicago, il. the company's early beginnings focused on carving and/or guilder ornament. by 1893, the decorators supply company had evolved into a well-established manufacturer of cast ornamental plaster and "plastic" compositions. the company was involved in the manufacture of mouldings adorning the buildings and halls showcased in the chicago world's fair or "columbian exhibition" of 1893. the majority of these neoclassical style buildings, embellished with ornamental plaster and/or staff, became widely known as the "white city." the fair of 1893 attracted a wealth of world class artists, sculptors, carvers and craftsmen to chicago. decorators supply drew from this rich talent pool consisting of german, italian and polish artisans, who over the following several decades would create some of the finest ornament found in commercial an residential structures. notable decorator and designer oscar spindler was head of the company's design and art department and is credited with creating the majority of the early designs found in their late 19th and early 20th century catalogs. the company operates to this day.