As noted in Part I it is thanks to the foresight of Chip Doyle that informative archival materials documenting Justema’s effort to market a line of his frame designs in New York still exist.
Justema worked with the company F. H. Newcomb in the late 1930s as well as the Newcomb Macklin Company in 1941. [1] An undated sales brochure from the F.J. Newcomb Company in New York (FIG 1) asserts “At present there are nearly thirty different Justema designs. Each may be had in various widths and combinations and in an almost unlimited range of finishes.” While the claim may be accurate, I have been unable to identify thirty different designs- just the 13 noted below.
The aim of this post is primarily to make the material known. (If you wish further information on any of them or wish to have the frame designs fabricated please email Chip Doyle directly at Framemessiah@aol.com. )
Eight of the frames are named after notable artists: the Cezanne, the Derain, the Dufy, the Laurencin, the Matisse, the Picasso, the Renoir and the Van Gogh. Justema made detailed notes for each design and suggestions for what kinds of artworks they would be well suited for and desirable finishes.
FIG 1 - FJ Newcomb Justema brochure
The remaining five are named alluding to the actual design- the Running Drape, the Camelia — a tondo mirror frame, the Sphere Corner, and the friendship frame and the Banked Corner.
We also know that Justema sought patents for his designs. Interestingly, I have thus far been unable to locate an extant frame in any of his designs. Should you know of one, please do let me know.
As discussed in my essay on Florine Stettheimer’s frames in the journal American Art (Summer 2025 39:2) Justema was adamant that his designs were his own and that he had not plagiarized her (or even been inspired by her frames). That said, his Dufy, Picasso and Renoir designs all have a striking similarity to the style of the frame that she designed for her Cathedral Series beginning in 1928. (FIGS 2 and 3).
FIG 2 - Stettheimer Cathedrals of Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
FIG 3 - Stettheimer Cathedrals Frame Detail
Finally, it is especially ironic that Justema’s Dufy ‘pie crust’ design became a style offered by APF Framemakers many years ago (and still offered today) surprisingly known as the ‘Stettheimer.’
FIG 4 - APF Stettheimer design
[1] The relationship between F. H. Newcomb and the Newcomb-Macklin Company of Chicago and New York is one that warrants further research as they do appear as separate entities in New York City directories for many of the same years. It was Newcomb-Macklin that became more widely known during the 19-teens and 20s having started in Chicago then adding a factory and showroom in New York City and a work force of salesmen that traveled the country and cultivated business, especially with the Taos School in New Mexico.