Chair Identification

Q: I am looking for information on this chair. I recently inherited it from my mother. I used your identification guide, but I’m not clear if I am interpreting it correctly. What can you tell me from this mark?

A: This is an English registry mark. It was used on metal, wood, glass, and ceramics from 1842 to 1883 to indicate the design had been registered at the British patent office. The number in the circle at the top is the type of material (wood), the number below is the day of the month (24). The number on the left is the parcel number (5), the letter P is the year (1877), and the letter K is the month (November). It indicates the design was registered at the British patent office on November 24, 1877. You can find more information about English registry marks and tables for interpreting them are on our website, Kovels.com. The chair may have been part of a set of dining table chairs.

chair with english registry mark

A.E. Meek Trunk

Q: I’d like to know if this trunk has any value? I’d like to get it fixed up. This label that says “A.E. Meek & Co.” is inside the lid. Is the maker still in business?

 

A: A.E. Meek & Co. was founded by Arthur Edmond Meek in Denver, Colorado, in 1876. His brothers, Leonard and Rupert, joined the business and they built a factory to produce trunks and valises in 1905. They also operated a retail store at a separate location. The factory became The Atlas Luggage Company in 1932. That company is still in business, now as the Atlas Case Corporation. If all the parts of your trunk work, you may just need to clean the metal. Flat top trunks like yours are popular as decorative objects and are often used as coffee tables or end tables. If there are young children in the family, remember that trunks can be dangerous and precautions should be taken to ensure a child doesn’t become trapped in the trunk if the lid closes. Old trunks like yours sell for about $50-$100 if in shabby condition.

 

Charles Rohlfs

Q: I got this piece from my landlady in East Aurora, New York, about 40 years ago. I used it as a plant stand and never knew who made it until about 10 years ago when I noticed this maker’s mark of an “R” in a rectangle and the date “1902” underneath. I took it to an antiques shop and they said it was made by Charles Rohlfs. After that I took it to the Antiques Roadshow in Buffalo, where they appraised it at about $1,000. Unfortunately my landlady had painted it. Can it be restored to the original color? What it worth with or without restoration?

A: Charles Rohlfs (1853-1936) was a furniture designer who started out as an actor while also working as a stove pattern maker. In 1886 he was granted a patent for his design for a heating stove. Rohlfs had a workshop in Buffalo beginning in 1898 and became known for his Arts & Crafts style furniture. Most of Rohlfs’ furniture was quarter-sawn oak and your piece, which was made in 1902, was probably not painted. Rohlfs furniture has gone up in price since 2008. At the Antiques Roadshow in Cleveland in 2016, a Rohlfs piece with its original finish but in poor condition was appraised for thousands of dollars. If your piece is all original except for the paint, it’s worth more than $1,000. If professionally restored, it would be worth much more.

Dry Sink by Hinken & Son

Q: I have my maternal great-grandparents’ solid oak dry sink. It’s marked “Hinken and Son, Alex… Va.” As I was born in 1946, I’m guessing the piece dates to the mid-19th century or maybe earlier. What do you think?

A: We found an ad for W.E. Hinken & Son in a 1922 Alexandria, Virginia, newspaper, proof they they were in business in the early 20th century. The company sold furniture, rugs, stoves, linoleum, and other items. We found no record of the store closing.

 

 

Russel Wright Chair

Q: We found this folding metal chair on the tree lawn, discarded, and waiting to be picked up on trash day. It has a partial label that says “Samson Chairs” and “designed by Russel Wright,” but we can’t read the rest. Is it worth anything? 

A: This chair was made by Shwayder Bros. Inc., a company started by Jesse Shwayder in Denver, Colorado, in 1910. His three brothers joined the company from 1912 to 1923. Shwayder made Samsonite luggage as well as folding tables and chairs. The trade name Samson was used to indicate strength. The company name became Samsonite in 1965 and it is still in business. Russel Wright (1904-1976) was an American designer known for his modern designs of furniture, dinnerware, glassware, radios, interiors, and other domestic and industrial wares. This chair, made of tempered steel with baked enamel finish in “Patio Colors,” was pictured in a 1950 Shwayder ad and priced at $7.95. Current value is $50 to $75.

Webster Mfg. Table Set

 Q: I have a table and four chairs that have been in our family since the 1940s or ’50s. They are made of maple and have paper labels that say “Webster Mfg. Co., Station B., Superior, Wis.” They need some repair and refinishing. Does the set have any value other than for memories? Is it worth refinishing?

A: Webster Mfg. Co. was founded by Andrew J. Webster. He started work in the late 1850s in Menasha, Wisconsin, where he owned a factory that made wagon hubs and spokes. Later the factory made chairs and other furniture. The name became Webster Mfg. Co. in 1880. The business moved to Superior, Wisconsin, after 1898 and by 1914, the company had branches in other cities and was making a million chairs a year. The company closed in 1932 during the Depression, reopened in 1935, and closed permanently in 1937. Although your table and chairs aren’t of great value, if you plan to use them in your home, you will probably want to repair and refinish them. Do minimum refinishing. Try to keep the painted corner decorations and striping.

 

Danish Tables

 

Q: I have three teak tables in great condition that were made in Denmark and purchased from late 1950s on. There are two side tables and a coffee table. This metal badge is on the bottom. It looks like it has two letter Fs, one upright and one upside down. I would like to sell the tables. Who made them and what is their value?

A: Your tables were made between 1957 and the early 1960s by France & Søn, a manufacturer of high-end furniture. The company was founded in 1948 by Charles France, a British businessman, and Eric Daverkosen, a Danish cabinetmaker. It was originally known as France & Daverkosen. The name became France & Søn after Charles’ son, James, joined the business in 1957. Teak furniture wasn’t originally mass-produced because the wood is gummy or waxy and quickly dulls a sawblade. Charles France developed a new type of sawblade in 1953 and the mass-production of Danish modern furniture became possible. The company became a leader in the manufacture of teak furniture and was the largest importer of teak wood from Thailand for several years. The company was sold in 1964. Several well-known Danish designers worked for France & Søn and some of the furniture sells for more than a thousand dollars. You should contact an auction house if you plan on selling your tables.

Wardrobe Mark

Q: I was given this trunk that has a sticker that says “Christie Baggage, Best Going, Best Returning.” Inside the trunk there are four drawers on one side and a place to hang clothes on the other side. Does it have any value?

A: Your trunk was made by Christie Trunk & Bag Company, Ltd., of Amherst, Nova Scotia. George and Charles Christie started Christie Bros. in 1863. The company started out as a sawmill and carriage manufactory and later made funeral supplies, trunks and suitcases. It was known for its travel trunks. The business closed in 1968. This type of trunk sells for about $100 to $150, usually to be used as a coffee table or “dresser.”

Antique Bed

Q: My mother, who is 94, got this bed when she was a child. Her parents bought it from a man who drove around the Doylestown, Ohio, area (where she was born) with antiques in his truck to sell. It is stamped "Manufactured by Hart & Malone, 2 & 4 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, O." Can you give us any information about the makers of this bed, its approximate age, and how much it might be worth?

A: William Hart established a furniture business in Cleveland in 1834. When his niece married Hezekiah Pennington Malone in 1865, Malone became a partner in the business and the name of the company became Hart & Malone. The company called itself “the best furniture manufacturing house in the country” and claimed to be the largest furniture manufacturer west of the Alleghenies. The business was located on Water Street (now West 9th Street) for several years before moving to Euclid Avenue, where it was located from at least 1873 to 1879. The addresses on Euclid were changed from the single digit numbers “2” and “4” to “301” and “303” by 1875, so your mother’s bed was probably made in the early 1870s. Renaissance Revival beds like this sell for $2,000 to $3,000.

Bennington Collection Chest

Q: I’d like to know the age and value of my chest of drawers. It’s 52 inches high, 33 1/2 inches wide and 18 inches deep. It’s branded with this mark that says “Bennington, Vermont of Winooski, Collection, Solid Pine.”

A: This chest was made by the Vermont Furniture Co., in business in Winooski, Vermont, from 1920 until the 1970s. The company initially made maple furniture and switched to making pine furniture in the 1960s. Although the furniture looks old, it’s not antique. The Bennington Collection is a line of furniture made in the 1960s. Vintage furniture is solid wood, better than new furniture made of plywood. Value of your chest, about $200.

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