Pease/Brown Continuum

By Gene and Linda Kangas

Otis Brown is a significant transitionary figure in the Pease/Brown woodturning continuum which lasted from 1850 to 1975. Living in the valley, the Brown and Pease families knew each other well and worked side by side at various times. In 1885 Otis married Minnie Pease (1866-1913), the granddaughter of David Pease. Minnie's brother George also married a Brown. These marriages brought the alliance firmly together. In 1886 Minnie's father, Curtis Gould Pease (1838-1905), purchased a second existing turning mill with proceeds earned during a prolonged selling and promotion venture at a major exposition in New Orleans. Curtis' newly acquired mill was across the street from Otis Brown's steam-powered sawmill.

Otis and Curtis shared some of the same workspace, storage space and use of equipment. Otis supplied lumber to the two turning mills; he also manufactured crates for use by local farmers to transport and store vegetables. Handwritten on an existing potato crate is the touching poetic sentiment "The wheels of time roll swiftly on, our term of school is past, our days of labor here are gone, swiftly as the wintry blast; mark this young friend now as we part."

At some point during his relationship with Curtis Pease, Otis learned the art of turning wood; he also became a gifted calligrapher receiving his diploma in Spencerian Penmanship in 1875 at age sixteen. Otis sent out announcements in 1881 proclaiming his opening of classes "for instruction in Practical and Ornamental Penmanship." None other than Platt Rogers Spencer, Jr., son of the founder of the system "who taught America to write," submitted a testimonial for the flier which read, "This is to certify that Mr. O. A. Brown has been a member of the Writing Department of this institution and made EXCELLENT progress in Plain and Ornamental Penmanship. We commend him to the public as a young man worthy of esteem and confidence. (P.R. Spencer, Spencerian Business College, Cleveland, Ohio, March 25, 1881)" Otis was twenty-two. His four-color calligraphic business card along with large and small expressively penned drawings of Jumbo the famous circus elephant, leaping deer, soaring eagles and other indigenous wildlife skillfully confirm Spencer's confidence.

Although a limited amount is known concerning Otis' woodturning accomplishments, an exceptional mint ninety-seven component maple and walnut exhibition urn with four "captive" rings bears his name. A show piece, it was created for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and mirrors the intricate design perfected by his father-in-law and business associate who was probably also his primary woodturning teacher. Containers as complicated as these were fashioned from blocks formed of glued-up strips of contrasting woods first cut to size in Otis' saw mill. Otis was, therefore, well aware of the total process and its requirements.

Shortly after Minnie's uncle Marvin James Pease died in 1906, Otis and Minnie took over the Pease property. They now owned a sawmill and at least one woodturning mill which included all of the equipment, lathe tools and an established product line. Otis and Minnie Brown's own family ultimately consisted of four sons and two daughters. Three of the four boys practiced woodturning. They were James Curtis Brown (1897-1959), Hiram Champlin Brown (1898-1979) and Roy Franklin Brown (1900-1975). While James and Roy were the most prolific turners of the brothers, turnings by Hiram, who learned the technique late in life, occasionally surface; many remain in the family. Recently, several small containers signed H.C. Brown and dated 1973 were available at a large antique flea market. They were purchased at an estate sale in a mixed box filled with examples by James and Roy as well as some by Pease. In number, James either made the most pieces or signed almost everything he turned since his name can be found more readily than Roy's or Hiram's. All produced both full-size and miniatures for various purposes. For example, one group of similar miniatures commemorated a golden wedding anniversary. Another selection was designed to celebrate a local maple sugar festival. These were souvenirs and gifts.

When the trio was growing up, woodturning and woodworking were occupations they witnessed daily. Their uncles and father were all quite accomplished in the trades and their well-practiced skills were passed directly down to the following generation. In this manner, Pease evolved to Pease/Brown and then finally Brown.

The last two primary forces in the tradition, James and Roy who remained in Ohio (Hiram moved to Florida in the late 1940s), were best friends and interesting characters. As teenagers, the boys talked over the idea of creating their own fun. They took parts from a bicycle, sled runners and a motor boat engine and combined them into their own homemade "motor-bob," an early version of current day snowmobiles. Passionate about checkers, they tested each other daily and welcomed all challengers. Roy worked for the railroad as a foreman for over fifty years; he also cut and dressed millstones. Roy owned a 192-acre farm which provided an unlimited supply of wood and a home for his beloved animals. He raised and trained four pair of handsome champion oxen which he proudly displayed at various events and contests. Roy got his first pair named Bill and Jack in 1911. The best "pull" in a contest by one of his pairs was 7,600 pounds.

James was a general carpenter who worked on numerous public and private buildings in the Painesville area. Sizeable spindle turnings such as Newell posts, porch balusters and support columns by him remain in service today. James had business cards and letterheads printed which advertised "Early American Hand Turned Hollow Woodenware, Plain and Inlaid Woodturning, Native and Rare Woods, We Turn Sugar Bowls, Little Pails, Pin Cushions, Vases, Lamps, Sewing Sets, Salt and Peppers. Over 100 Years in Ohio Wood Turning." These items and seventy more types were available by mail order to anywhere in the United States. A sampling of prices listed on his 1937 illustrated penny postcard were $.75 for a pair of salt and pepper shakers, $1.75 for a sewing companion with a compartment in the bottom for buttons, $1.00 for a ten-inch tray, and $1.25 for a sugar bowl. James was also an amateur photographer who filled five family albums with his pictures and with ones he saved from earlier times. James' and Roy's remembrances of Pease financial successes which resulted from participation in major trade shows suggested a similar method for them to earn extra money during the Great Depression. In the 1930s they traveled to numerous county and local fairs to publicly demonstrate their talents and to sell their treenware. Roy especially enjoyed those encounters and the opportunities they provided to meet new people.

Years later around 1943 Roy moved to Conneaut, Ohio where he established the "Farmers Museum" and a small working grist mill at his Victorian home. His large house was filled with relics as well as the original Pease woodturning equipment. Roy often gave tours of his museum and frequently presented his turning skills to visitors. Roy's interest in preserving artifacts from the past was shared by his brother; both were avid students of history. James learned to differentiate the subtle nuances of objects authored by various Pease makers. He chronicled the names of those Pease turners onto the bottoms of many containers. His handwriting and printing styles are quite recognizable. He is credited for his preservation of historical information; because of him, designation of different family artisans is possible today. James owned and studied scores of Pease examples and perhaps was tutored in identification and turning by his Uncle Frank Pease.

Several reoccurring styles of maple Peaseware were produced generation after generation culminating with the Browns. The earliest Pease works, circa 1850-1860, however, tend to vary considerably from the later classic types and relatively few are signed. By comparison, turnings by James, Hiram and Roy Brown closely resemble traditional Pease forms except they were often more experimental in their choices of wood; and they stamped, labeled or handsigned many. Without those identifying signatures and visible differences in surface patina, some early Brown efforts are indistinguishable from Pease artifacts.

Since the Browns tended to closely emulate designs and techniques perfected by their ancestors, it seems logical that furniture crafted by them might also inherently reflect the "look" of Pease furniture (an area virtually unresearched). Known furniture by the Browns includes their own personal checkerboard, doll-size beds, four-posted beds, chest of drawers, one-drawer stands, candle stands, a deacon's bench, a secretary and assorted chairs; most are in private collections. Their game table remains by far their most unique and individualized piece of furniture. It features an original painted checkerboard top which revolves like a lazy susan atop a turned column; and that post rests on a circular transition supported by three short legs. The table was custom designed to satisfy the rigorous demands of their continual serious checker play. At a later point, Roy also made a maple and black walnut chess set to use on the table. Their other furniture was built as gifts or generically made to fulfill the needs of close friends and relatives. Beautiful regional woods like tiger maple, cherry and walnut were selected for these special projects. Like Peaseware, Brown furniture is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

The Pease-Brown Continuum flourished for a century and a quarter because of strong familial relationships. Fathers taught sons; uncles taught nephews; and older brothers taught younger brothers. Children grew up surrounded with the sights and sounds of their elders hard at work earning a living by creating quality objects for others to use and enjoy. Today their turnings speak of pride of craftsmanship and refinement of ideas. From the first mid-nineteenth century maple containers conceived by David Mills Pease in Cascade Valley through subsequent generations, the quality continued. James and Roy Brown certainly understood and appreciated what their forebearers accomplished. And, each contributed, in his own way, to an intriguing American family saga.