decorators supply company's richly designed ornament has greatly enhanced chicago's architecture

the decorators'' supply company traces its history back to 1883 when the original founders, simon strahn and richard c. foster, established a partnership to manufacture "artistic decorative accessories." an old lease document dated april 13, 1890 describes the company as a carving and guilders business. by 1893, decorators supply had blossomed into a manufacturer of cast ornamental plaster. the company was involved in the fabrication of the mouldings that would adorn the buildings and halls showcased in the columbian exhibition of 1893. these buildings, embellished with ornamental plaster, became known as the "white city."

the world's fair of 1893 attracted a wealth of world class artists, sculptors, carvers and craftsmen to chicago. this rich talent pool the german, italian and polish artisans who over the following four decades would create the artistic legacy seen in their product offerings that are made using some of their original molds to this day.

a matching set of interior residential corbels and a single, four-sided capital, comprised largely of oak wood with neoclassical style "plastic" ornament. the original varnished and/or stained finish has been stripped away, hence the two-tone color scheme. to this day, decorators' supply can fabricate missing or broken ornament on any and all existing millwork - primarily found in residential interiors across chicago.

note the largely intact original manufacturer's paper label affixed to the backside of the right corbel. i have extracted several interior residential components containing their labels while salvaging chicago homes faced with demolition.