Wyoming
State Museum

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The natural beauty and vast open spaces of the West have always attracted adventurous souls. The American cowboy and the Native American Indians exemplify the West; both project simple, yet strong and powerful images. In the early to mid-1900s, cowboy furniture was nothing more than furniture made by cowboys for ranches. The furniture was sturdy and strong, yet relatively primitive and simple.

In the 1930s one man had a vision to bring out the best of what was at the time a very crude craft. Inspired by the Arts & Crafts Movement, Thomas Molesworth began making furniture, experimenting with natural wood, leather, antlers, Indian weavings and different cowboy and Indian artifacts.

Molesworth owned and operated the Shoshone Furniture Company from 1931 to 1961 in Cody, Wyoming. In 1933 Pennsylvania publishing magnate Moses Annenberg commissioned him to furnish his large retreat Ranch A near Beulah, Wyoming.

Over the span of thirty years, Molesworth created hundreds, perhaps even thousands of pieces of rustic western furniture for local ranches, eastern plantations and hotels throughout Wyoming and Montana including the TE Ranch, Eisenhower's den and the Rockefeller Ranch.

The Molesworth Style

It is said that Molesworth single-handedly popularized "cowboy furniture," or the Western style of furniture design. Molesworth's style combines simplicity and comfort with whimsy, humor and romance. He captured, through his furniture and interior designs, the landscape, history and romantic imagery of the old west.

Gun Cabinet
This four and one half foot tall cabinet is constructed of fir and decorated with a bobcat head. The door handle is a deer hoof.
G-2002.94.3

Wastebasket Holder
This wastebasket holder appears to include reminders of a successful hunt.
G-2002.94.47

Round Table
This table is covered in leather and contains inset designs. The legs are separated by a cross stretcher featuring a large tree burl center.
G-2004.60.60

Leather Upholstered Armchair
With characteristic loose cushion seat and back, this chair combines tree burls and tooled wood. The background on this piece has been impressed into the wood to highlight the designs.
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Side Table
This narrow upright table has an oddly shaped molded top.
G-2004.60.54

Magazine Rack
This magazine rack has "U" shaped frame ends notched into tree burl feet.
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Silver Chest
Designed to hold a complete silver service, this pine chest has tooled doors with tree burl knobs.
G-2004.60.56

Ranch A: The Commission that Started it All

In 1933, Moses Annenberg, the Pennsylvania publishing mogul, commissioned Thomas Molesworth to furnish his entire Western retreat known as "Ranch A" The ranch was a 10,000 square foot lodge on 700 acres near Beulah, Wyoming along Sand Creek. This commission launched Molesworth's career as a Western-style furniture maker and interior designer.

Single Bed Footboard
Tree trunk uprights support this footboard with a silhouette of two deer carved in relief.
G-2004.60.52

Ranch A Design

Annenberg hired architect Raymond Ewing of Deadwood, South Dakota who specialized in log and stone construction to build Ranch A. The ranch consisted of a main lodge with eight bedrooms, a Barnstable for horses, and four small guest cabins. Construction on the ranch began in 1932, and it cost over a million dollars and took two years to build.

The entry room in the main lodge of Ranch A has a high ceiling with a stone fireplace at one end, large enough for five-foot logs. The chimney reaches upward to another fireplace on the second floor balcony. The balcony surrounds the entire room and the eight bedrooms and five baths occupy three sides of the balcony floor. The main lodge is often compared to the grand style of the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone.

Annenberg first saw Molesworth's work in his storefront in Cody, Wyoming. He was immediately taken with the Western themes and quality craftsmanship, and so commissioned Molesworth to create the furniture for all of Ranch A.

Molesworth built 245 pieces of furniture for Ranch A and designed the entire interior of the main building. He incorporated materials such as knotted burls, fir poles, iron, Navajo blankets, Chimayo weavings, and animal skins into the decor. He would continue to use these elements throughout his career.

In the main room Molesworth used bright, upholstered furniture to help lighten up the room. He used all hand peeled fir, a style that gave the furniture a more rustic look. One of the main elements of the room was a twenty-foot dining table, with twenty high backed chairs, which were marked with the routed design of the letter "A" and had arms made of burls. He also incorporated Western motifs of cowboys and Indian villages into the bar, the chandeliers, and the fire screens.

Molesworth also incorporated trophy heads and animal skins in to the design of the room, including coyote-head light fixtures and drapes made of horsehide decorated with beadwork. As a final touch, Molesworth scattered 42 Navajo rugs throughout the lodge.

Ranch A Today

Former Wyoming governor Nels Smith purchased Ranch A from the family in 1942 after Annenberg's death. The property changed hands four times between 1942 and 1963 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gained the title. Federal legislation deeded the property to the State of Wyoming in 1996 and it remains in the care of the State of Wyoming today as one of our many important historic sites.

Single Bed Footboard
Tree trunk uprights support this footboard with a silhouette of an antelope carved in relief.
G-2002.94.40

The Influence of the Arts and Crafts Movement

While studying at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1908, Molesworth was influenced by the ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement. The Arts and Crafts movement was an art movement of the early 20th century that involved architecture, decorative arts, cabinet making and crafts. The movement emphasized individual craftsmanship, simplicity of design, use of local materials, and nature-based decorative motifs. This in turn led many artists to move away from cities to set up workshops in rural locations where they revived old techniques and created communties of craft workers. The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident in Molesworth's unique western furniture style. He focused on creating one-of-a-kind handmade pieces using local materials. In addition, he utilized designs and imagery from the region, and incorporated the work of other local and regional artists in the interior design of his rooms.

Writing Desk
This desk has a brown wood fiber writing surface attached to pine board construction. It is decorated with tipis, and the letter "A" for Annenberg.
G-2004.60.42

Upholstered Armchair
This upholstered armchair is from one of Molesworth's first major commissions. It is typical of his vision that furniture should look rustic yet be comfortable.
G-2002.94.20

Stand
This stand is made of rough rails with planed oak shelves. Engraved with a bison and the letter "A" for Annenberg.
G-2004.60.50

Table Lamp and Lampshade
Beginning with his earliest commissions, tree burl lamps with rawhide shades were part of Molesworth's designs. The lampshade is formed from eight mica panels joined by lead.
G-2002.94.25, .36

Curtain
Split horsehide curtain decorated with a loom beaded pictoral strip.
G-2004.60.58

Curtain
Made of split horsehide or pony skin this curtain is hand beaded in bright colors with a floral scene topped by a butterfly.
G-2002.94.52

Chair
This high-backed side chair is upholstered in cloth with a loose pillow cushion.
G-2004.60.66

The Furniture

For his couches and chairs, Molesworth used bold, rich colors, and bright, solid leathers and upholstery. He would also incorporate Chimayo weavings into the couch cushions. He would visit Chimayo Indian artists near Santa Fe, New Mexico several times a year to commission weavings for his furniture.

He preferred woods that were native to the West, such as hand-peeled fir, distinctive burls, and the exotic look to the grain. In later work, he incorporated tulip poplar and magnolia for chair backs, inset panels in sideboards, and cabinets because it was more stable and thus easier to route and scrape the silhouetted designs.

The silhouette designs were extremely popular. The simple box construction of his furniture lent itself well to incorporating these silhouetted panels. The designs incorporated symbols of Western heritage such as bison and other wildlife, images of cowboys, and Indian villages and tepees.

Ottoman
This rectangular ottoman has a border relief of cut diamonds.
G-2002.94.23

The Burl

The burls found in many of Molesworth's pieces were collected by local outfitters and sold to Molesworth for use in his furniture. The burls, large wart-like growths found on the trunks of damaged trees, were caused by an injury to the tree just under the bark that made the cells divide and grow excessively. As the tree grew and healed, the deformity became twisted and thickened, resulting in the burl. Though the burl was customarily used in the production of very fancy veneers, Molesworth was inspired to use the burl itself within his furniture.

Card Table
A gigantic pine burl mounted on an iron base supports the leather top of this card table.
G-2004.60.53

Armchair
This chair is made of pine and contains a loose pillow seat.
G-2002.94.16

Armchair
The top rail of this chair is carved in relief with the letter "A" for Annenberg.
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Armchair
This chair has tree trunks for rear legs and tree burls for its feet and hand rests.
G-2002.94.21

Roomscapes

While Molesworth's craft was furniture making, he was always aware of the overall effect in a room rather than with the importance of just one piece. He became well known for creating entire roomscapes full of Wesern and Indian motifs and imagery. For his larger commissions he chose everything from the Navajo rugs placed around the rooms and on the walls to animal-hide draperies and iron light fixtures. He also used Indian crafts like pottery and Western objects like branding irons as decorations and accents in the rooms. In order to do this he would commission the work of other popular artists, including carpenters, upholsterers, ironworkers, and even Native American weavers to complete the interior designs.

Firescreen
This firescreen was created with tin and steel decorations that feature Western scenes.
G-2004.60.46

Service Counter
This bar is constructed of plywood with pole and burl trim. The decoration is tooled into the wood and presents a whimsical view of nature.
G-2004.60.59

Molesworth and the Historic Governors' Mansion

These three pieces were part of a collection of furniture commissioned by former Governor Milward Simpson (1955-1959) for the study of what is now the Historic Governors' Mansion. Thomas Molesworth was a friend of the former governor and these pieces were commissioned in the late 1950s, near the end of his career.

Although these pieces do not include some of the hallmarks of Molesworth's work such as the burls and Chimayo weavings they do incorporate his characteristic use of bold solid colors, leather, and round tacks. Even as Molesworth incorporated more contemporary designs into his later work, the distinctive rustic western style is always evident.

Sofa
This rectangular back sofa is upholstered with a mix of two fabrics. The seatback fabric has a woven pattern of Ponderosa Pine cones and needles.
G-1976.31.170

Arm Chair
This chair has lathe turned legs, arm rests and spindles.
G-1976.31.168

Side Table
This tiered table is covered in white leather over wood with hammered brass tack decorations along the edge.
G-1976.31.171