Rounded Corner mantels (circa 1860 to 1880)
 | Mantels / Italianate mantels / Geometric mantels / Rounded Corner mantels Rounded corner mantels are known by their characteristic corner curves over the firebox. This was one of the most common types of Italianate mantels, partially because the opening was designed to fit with specially shaped summer fronts. They were sometimes produced with classical elements and sometimes with decorative period details. This mantel type was mostly produced with an expressed frieze area, although exceptions appear in the catalogs. They were common throughout the 1870s. Mantels with rounded corners tended to use simple rectangular shelves (59% of examples in catalogs). Other common shelf types included shelf B (17%) and shelf E (14%). The shelf type was not identified for 6% of these mantels. Below is an example of a mantel with rounded corners displaying a decorative overmantel (Palmer Fuller & Co. 1879, page 80): 
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Millwork catalog references: Woodward's National Architect (1869) page 96 (2) ; Penrhyn (1869) page 20, 21, 32, 33 ; Cummings (1873) page 51 (3) ; Bicknell (1873) page 45 ; Bradley & Currier (1877) page 16 (3), 17, 18 (4), 20 (3), 21 (3), 22 (2), 23 (2), 24 (2), 25 (2), 26 (2), 27 (4), 31, 34, 36, 39, 40 (4), 41 (2), 42 ; Barber & Henderson (1878) page 28, 32, 34, 35 ; Palmer, Fuller & Co. (1879) page 80, 81 ; Nichols (1880) page 4, 6 (3), 7, 9 (2), 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (2), 21, 22, 28 ; Charles Williams' Sons (1880) page 4, 10, 12, 14, 18, 24, E ; Bradley & Currier (1880) page 38A (4), 38B (2), 38C (3), 38D ; | |