L
l
.-_._-
Sligh's Superior Styles Sell
ALL THROUGH THE SEASON
No complaints of dull trade uttered by dealers
handling the SLIGH LINES
...
~
THE PAST SEASON'S
RECORD BREAKER.
SALES OF SLIGH GOODS A
~
CORRECT STYLES, GOOD MATERIALS AND HONEST
WORKMANSHIP, STRONG FEATURES IN THE SLIGH
LINES.
A Mammoth Exhibition of Fine and Medium Furniture for
the Bedroom Ready on June 17, 1907
SLIGH FURNITURE COMPANY
BUCHANAN STREET, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
3
1883 --- 1907
Michigan Chair Company
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
"FOREMOST
CHAIR FACTORY
IN MICHIGAN"
II
HE opening day of the coming Furniture Sales Season, June J 7th, is
a holiday in many sections of our country, and we are going to celebrate same by having our warerooms dressed in very attractive attire.,
From one end to the other will be seen handsome Chairs, suggestive of comfort and usefulness with a range and scope so broad as to make selection merely a matter of which and what.
A carriage to come in if you wish -and to go as well.
and best attention.
REPRESENTATIVE
East:
CHAS. H. cox
ROBT. E. WALTON
CHAS. F. M<GREGOR
South:
W. R. PENNY
Cordial greeting
SALESMEN
We,t:
CHAS.B.PARMENTER
ROBT.G.CALDER
MICHIGAN CHAIR COMPANY
~
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---
--~
---
--
-
--
-
4
A B L E
s
FOR EVERY ROOM BUT THE KITCHEN
L
187~
-----------
THE MOST COMPLETE LINE OF
EXTENSION
. MANUFACTURED
TABLES
IN AMERICA
,
PILLAR TABLES FROM $12.50 UP
1
I
OFFICE TABLES
ALL SIZES
PARLOR TABLES
LIBRARY TABLES
DEN TABLES
MEDIUM PRICED
MAHOGANY
SAMPLES ON EXHIBIT
AT THE FACTORY
No. 615
!
I
I
I
TAKE SCIUBNEJt ST. CAR.
No. 617
IMPERIAL FURNITURE CO.
Grand Rapids. Mich.
5
Grand Rapids Chair Co.
GRAND
RAPIDS,
MICH.
weare
iSinil.tors
!
nor
llators_J
.
I__
~.~.....-.a.
I
I
Strictry
High-Grade
Furniture
At
Medium
Prices
1186 BUFFET
Desks
Buffets
Sideboards
Hall Racks
China Cabinets
Music Cabinets
Tables
Hall Seats
Cellarettes
Book Cases
Hall Glasses
Chests and Boxes
Goods shown at our factory only.
Full line now ready.
6
ORIEL
Cabinet
======Grand
COlnpany
Rapids,
Mich.======
La~gest Manufacturers
OF
Furniture
In the W orId
------------
N ovelties
Line Ready for Inspection
by the Trade on
June 17, 1907
The Higher Degrees
of Furniture
Construction
Have Been Taken by the
ESTEY MANUFACTURING
For Workmanship
CO.
For Designs
CHAMBER SUITES
No. 912
For Quality
For Finish
SIDEBOARDS and BUFFETS
OWOSSO, MICH.
CATALOGUE
TO THE
TRADE
ONLY
~----------------
L.
--
-
The Line with Invincible Points of Merit
Inspect Our
Inspect Our
Buffets
China Cabinets
Combinations
Gents' Wardrobes
Shaving Stands
Parlor Cabinets
Music Cabinets
Hall Trees
Hall Seats
Hat Racks,
Ladies' Dressing Tables
Ladies' Dressing Chairs
Framed Mirrors
WITH
PATENT ADJUSTABLE FiXTURES
No. 320 Table
Full of NOVELTIES and USEFULNESS
. Show Rooms:
Show Rooms:
GRAND RAPIDS
NEW YORK
2d FLOOR
4th FLOOR
BIG BUILDING
NEW YORK FURNITURE
EXCHANGE
With THE: WEATHERLEYS
CHICAGO
6th FLOOR
It will pay you to look
our line over even if you
don't buy.
FURNITURE EXCHANGE
With PECK &: HILLS
No. 680 Cabinet
ROCKFORD FRAME andFIXTURE CO.
ROCKFORD
IWNOIS
-
.
9
THE
Manistee Manufacturing Co.
MANISTEE, MICHIGAN
CJl We say but little but do a lot in the way of bringingout
one
of the strongest lines of Sideboards, Buffets, Chiffoniers, Odd
Dressers and Gentlemen's Wardrobes there is on the market.
This is
This is
One of Our
One that will
BEST
SELL
No. 266 Sideboard.
Top 25x60; Minoy 18x50
CJl Our full line of one hundred patterns will be shown on the
6th floor, spaces 17 and 19, Manufacturers'
ing 1319 Michigan Ave., Chicago.
Exhibition Build-
We make our own Exhibit. Call in and we will treat you right, and
give you your money's worth.
CHAS. ELMENDORF, in charge.
r----------------
I·
l
---
10
Berkey & Gay Furniture Co.
Grand Rapids
The Line will be ready for
inspection by the Trade
Monday
June 17
1 907
Chamber Furniture
Dining Room Furniture
Library Furniture
It is all Furniture of Character That Has the
Charm of Quality
11
Luce Furniture Company
Godfrey Ave" GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
i
I
I
..I
Line Ready at
FACTORY
JUNE
New Features
17,
1907
in Upper Class
Circassian Walnut
A Large Addition to
Our Line of Staples·
Medium and Fine Furniture
for the
Chamber and
Dining Room
~------------
12
13
~~IIMPORTANT!~1~~
It is a matter of IMPORTANCE
to every Furniture Buyer that he
inspect our Fall Line before placing orders for
Davenport Sofa Beds-Box Couches
Adjustable Sofas _.Plain or Tufted
Couches and Davenports
.... WE HAVE
THE
No_ 583 .. SIMPLICITY
t1
STYLES
AND THE VALUES ....
Sofa Bed, a popular medium priced pattern from our Spri[]g Line
AN INNOVATION
We will also show our Initial Line of TURKISH CHAIRS and ROCKERS in
"RELIANCE" LEATHER. A sensational short line of sure sellers.
We Exhibit at Grand Rapids only. JUNE·- JULY SEASON.
JAMESTOWN LOUNGE COMPANY
Manufacturers 01 Superior Guaranteed Upholstery
JAMESTOWN, N. Y.
14
Royal Furniture Company
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
:
Dining
Library
Bedroom
Suites
HALL CLOCKS
IN
"COLONIAL"
STYLE
NEW
ADAPTATIONS
Ready for Inspection
June 17, 1907
SHOWN AT
FACTORY SALESROOM
THE ROYAL fURNITURE
RAPIDS,
MICHIGAN,
GRANO
Co.
-
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15
Why Biggest in the World?
At the coming Furniture Exposition at Grand Rapids (opening June 17th), and that in
New York (from July Isth to August 3rd), the Northern Furniture Company will as usual,
have the largest space of any American Manufacturer.
Though but a few years old, the
Northern makes more bed-room, dining-room, and kitchen furniture than any other Ulanufacturer in this country, and that means' in the world.
WIlY?
Why' 7:oasJ.Vorthern space last 'year more cro7:oded than any other at these
tions?
f'lfJO
exposi-
BECAUSEThe Northern line sells best on the floors of the ,.etail dealers.
It's a quick mover.
doem't get stnek.
It gives satisfaction.
The prices are the kind the people want-not
low as to necessitate poor workmanship, not so high as to be fancy.
The Northern
It
so
line is noted for its elegant simplicity.
J t is stylish without being over-iJrnGtnented.
[t is substantial without
being gaudy.
[t looks well for years and it wears <Dellfor years.
as v.Jeli as ollter quality,
[t is solid "Uthe way through.
has illlter quality
And the people know it.
Do you know it9
C"U ""d see tis.
You you,.self will then know WHY.
The plates on this page are but a suggestions of our enonnous line.
NORTUERN fURNITURE COMPANY
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
It
12th Season
Commencing July 1, 1907
CHICAGO
MANUFACTURERS' EXHIBITION BUILDING CO.
12th- Season
Commencing July 1, 1901
The Original Building-1319
PAI\TIAL
MICHIGANAVE.-Admission
LIST
ON
to Dealers Only
EXtiI&ITOI\S
Preston & Khouri, New York.
Probst Furri. Co., The, Pomeroy, 0.
Pullman Couch Co., Chicago.
Queen Cbair Co., Thomasville, N. C.
Ranney Refrigerator Co., Chicago.
Richmond, . Ind., Manufacturing
Co.,·
Richmond, Ind.
Rishel Furniture Co., J. K, Williamsport, Pa.
Rockford Furniture Co., Rockford, Ill.
Rockford
Standard
Furniture
Co.,
Rockford, Ill.
Rome Metallic Bed Co., Rome, N. Y.
Root Furniture Co., Shelbyville, Ind.
Rothschild-LuskY Mfg. Co., Nashville,
Tenn.
Royal Mantel & Furniture Co., Rockford, Ill.
Sanitary Feather Co., Chicarro.
Sanitary Steel Couch Co., Elkhart,
N. C.
Kindel Manufacturing Co., St. Louis
Ind.
Schneider & Allman, Chicago.
Kinney-Rodier Co., Chicago.
Schram Bros., Chicag-o.
Knoxville Table & Chair Co., KnoxSchultz & Hirsch, Chicago.
ville, Tenn.
Sellers, G. 1., & Sons Co., Elwood,
Lamb, George L., Nappanee, Ind.
Langslow-Fowler Co., Rochester, N.Y.
Ind.
Sextro Manufacturing Co., Cincinnati
Landay, Joseph 1., St. Louis, Mo.
Shelbyville Wardrobe
Co., ShelbyLanday Steel Range Co., St. Louis
ville, Ind.
Lathrop Co., The, Chicago.
Shreve Chair Co.) Union City, Pa.
Lilly Varnish Co., Indianapilis, Ind.
Sidway Mercantile Co., Elkhart, Ind,
Lustre Chemical Co., Chicago.
Sikes Chair Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
Manistee ~'1anufacturing Co., ManisSkandia Furniture Co., Rockford, Ill.
tee, Mich.
Smith-River Chair Co" Bassett, Va.
Marietta Chair Co., Marietta, Ga.
Marvel Furn. Co., Jamestown, 'N. Y. . Spencer & Barnes Co., The, Benton
Harbor, Mich.
1Jayhew Manufacturing Co., MilwauSpiegel Furniture
Co., Sh~lbyvil1e,
kee, \Vis.
McDougall, G. P., & Son, IndianapoInd.
Sprague & Carleton, Keene, N. H.
lis, Ind.
Standard
Chair Co., Thomasville,
Mechanics' Furniture Co., Rockford
l\'[eier & Pohlman Furniture Co., St.
N.C.
N.C.
Standard Chair Co., Union City. Pa.
Crowell Furniture Co., Bassett, Va.
Louis, ·Mo.
Davis, Horwich & Steinman, Chicago.
Standard Furniture Co., The, Cincin1linneapolis Furniture
Co., MinneaDillingham .Manufacturing Co., Shepolis, Minn.
nati.
;':1ission Furniture Co., S1. Paul. Minn.
boygan, \-Vis.
Stickley & Brandt Chair Co., The,
Dixie Furniture Co., Lexington, N. C.
Modern Furniture Co., Cincinnati, O.
Binghamton, N. Y.
Dunn Co., John A., Chicago.
Naperville Lounge Co., Naperville, Ill.
Stomps-Burkhardt
Co., The, Dayton,
Eckhoff Furniture Co., St. Louis, 1:10.
National Carriage & Reed Co., Cin0.
Elk Furniture Co., Lexington, N. C.
Streator Metal Stamping Co., Streacinnati, O.
Emmerich, Charles, & Co., Chicago.
National Table Co., Marietta, O.
tor, Ill.
Empire Furniture
Co., Jamestown
Norquist Co., A. c., The, Jamestown,
Streit Manufacturing Co., The C. F"
Empire 1'loulding Works, Chicago.
Cincinnati, O.
N.C.
Emrich Furniture Co., The, IndianaOakland Manuafcturing Co., WinstonSturkin-NeIson
Cabinet Co., Loganpolis, ~Ind.
Salem, N. C.
sport, Ind.
Fall Creek Manufacturing Co., MooOberbeck Bros. Manufacturing
CO'
Swift & Co., Chicago.
resville, Ind.
Grand Rapids, Wis.
Thayer, H. N., Co., Erie, Pa.
Faultless Mfg. Co., Geneva, Wis.
Onken Co., Oscar, The, Cincinnati,O,
Thomasville Furniture Co., ThomasFenske Bros., Chicago.
Palmer Furniture Manufacturing Co.,
ville, N. C.
Ferguson
Bros. Manufacturing
Co.,
A. E. Adrian, Mich.
Union
Furniture
Co., ]ame,:;town
Hoboken, N. J.
Palmer Manufacturing. Co., Deb'oil
\Vashington
Manufaetu·ring
Co.,
Fisher, Charles A., & Co., Chicago.
Pana Metal Bed & Manufacturing Co.,
Washington, Court House, O.
Foster
Bros.
Manufacturing
Co.,
Pana, Ill.
Western Hardware & Manufacturing
Utica,
N. Y.
Penn Furn. Co.. Huntington, W. Va.
Co., Mlwaukee, Wis.
f'uUer- Warren Co., The, Milwaukee
Pioneer Manufacturing Co., Detroit
\Vestcrn Picture Frame Co., Chicago.
Fulton Manufacturing- Co., Chicago.
Plimpton, F. T., & Co., Chicago.
White Furniture Co., The, Mebane,
Frank Todd, Chicago;
Posselius Bros. Furniture
ManufacN. C.
Freedman Bros. & Co., Chicago.
turing Co., The, Detroit, Mich.
White-McCarthy
Furniture Co., ChiGarvy Co., The,' Chicago.
cago.
Globe-Home
Furniture
Co., High
Widman, J,
& Co., Detroit. Mich.
Point N. C.
\\Tisconsin Chair Co., The, Port WashGolden Furniture
Co., Jamestown
ington, Wis.
Goshen Novelty & Brush Co GosWisconsin Furniture & Manufacturhen, Ind.
ing, Co., The, Neillsville, Wis.
Heroy Glass Co., Chicago.
Wolf & Kraemer Furniture Co., St.
Herzog Art Furniture Co., Saginaw,
Louis, Mo.
Mich.
Hillsboro Chair Co., Hillsboro, O.
Wolverine
Manuafcturing
Co., DeHodell Furniture
Co., The, Shelbytroit, Mich.
ville, Ind.
Yeager Furniture. Co., The, AllenHohenstein- Hartmetz
Furniture
Co.,
town, Pa.
Evansville, Ind.
American Furniture Co., Bassett, Va.
American Metal Ware Co., Chicago.
Banta Furniture
Co., The, Goshen,
Ind.
Bassett Furniture Co" Bassett, Va.
Blanchard-Hamilton
Furniture
Co.,
The, Shelbyville, Ind.
Billow-Lupfer
Coo. Columbus, O.
Bissell Carpet Sweeper Co., Grand
Rapids, Mich.
Booth Furn. Co., Peru, Ind.
Brumby Chair Co., Marietta, Ga.
Buckeye Chair Co., The, Ravenna, O.
Burkhardt Furniture Co" The, Dayton, O.
Bay View Furniture
Co., Holland,
Mich.
Cad.illac Cabinet Co., Detroit, Mich.
Campbell, c.. H" Co., Shelbyville, Ind.
Campbell, Smith & Ritchie, Lebanon~
Ind.
Capital Furniture Manufacturing Co.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
Capital Rattan Co., The, Indianapolis
Cass, .R T. & Co., Chicago.
Cates Chair Co., Thomasville, N. C.
Central Bedding Co., of Illinois, Chicago.
Chippewa Falls Furniture Co., Chippewa, Falls, \hlis.
Choate· Hollister Furn. Co., Janesville,
Wis.
Conrey & Birely Table
Co., The,
Shelbyville, Ind.
Co.,
Conrey-Davis
]"'lanufacturing
Shelbyville, Ind.
Co-operative F.urniture Co., Rockford
Coye Furniture Co., The,
Stevens
Point, \Vis.
Cramer Furniture
Co., Thomasville,
Hollatz Bros., Chicago.
Hood, F. L., & Co., Nashville, Tenn.
Hulse, E. 1\01., Co., The, Columbus, O.
Humphrev Bookcase
Co.,
Detroit
Ideal Register & Metallic Furn. Co.,
Detroit, 1-1ieh.
Indiana Brass & Iron Bed Co. Indianapolis, Ind.
Indianapolis Chair & Furniture Co.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
Johnson & Sons Furniture Co., A. J.,
Chicago.
Kelly, J. A., & Bros., Clinton, Ia.
Kelly-Sorenson
Furniture
Co.,. Clinton, la.
Kemnitz Furniture Co., Theo., Green
Bay, Wis.
Kendallville Furniture Co., Peru, Ind.
Kincaid Furniture
Co" Statesville,
I
I
c.,
j
Manufacturers' Exhibition Building Co., 1319 Michigan Ave., Chicago
GRAND RAPIDS
PU2LIC LIBRARY
27th Year-No. 24.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., JUNE 25, 1907.
TALKED ABOUT TREES.
Timber Topics Discussed by Members of a Michigan Horticultural Organization.
The June meeting- of the Grand River Valley Horticultural
Society was devoted to the discussion of "Trees and Timber."
William H. Anderson, presidcllt of the Fourth National Bank
of Grand Rapids read a paper Oll the "Comparative GrO\.vth
of Trees" in which he showed that the harder and more valuable timber is from trees of slo-w growth. The whitewood
or poplar is the most rapid grower among Michigan trees
while the boxwood 15 the ;-;lowest.
Prof. Filibert Roth, state forest warden talked on "Reforest ration as an Investment."
He presented figures showing
the state could set aside land now held at a dollar an acre,
plant trees, care for them for forty or fifty years and-eliminating taxation-realize
100 per cent profit, in addition to
compound interest on the entire investment.
Taxation, he
said, is a bar to reforest ration by private parties,
The local
assessing officers value the property so high that the taxes
more than over balance the profits. He charged the assessing
officers with having hastened the wanton destruction of Michigan forests. By overtaxing timber lands they conlpelled the
non-resident OW'ners to cut the timber as soon as possible
and allow the land to go back to the state. The state does
not pay taxes; therefore it is not handicapped in that way.
Prof. Roth spoke of erroneous ideas, frequently expressed
in the newspapers, as to what the forestry commissioners arc
doing and from his statements it appears they are not doing
much in the way of planting trees. It is not necessary to
replant the pine barrens of Michigan in order to make them
valuable and a source of profit to the state. There are plenty
of young trees-many
varieties-now
gro\ving on nearly all
of the so-called waste lands, he said, and all that is necessary
is to keep the fire away from them and allow them to grow.
Four years ago the commissioners asked the legislature
to set aside a few thousand of the six mitllon acres of waste.
lands owned by the state, to be protected and used as a forest
reserve.
The request was granted, but the state officials
were not friendly to the i<1c,aand they picked the poorest of
the lands-some
that the state had been trying to dispose of
for years. They were offered at 50 cents an acre and the
state had spent more than that amount in trying to sell it.
The largest tract reserved contains about 29,000 located in
Roscommon county just south of Houghton Lake. No trees
have been planted on this tract. To pay a watchma.n to look
after trespasses and guard against fire, with a few assistants
in the dryest, most dangerous seasons, the commissioners
have paid, on an average, a little more than $800 per year.
During the four years they have sold dead timber for which
the state has receiv,ed nearly $6,000. For the first year the
sale of dead and down timber brought $870 and for the last
year $2,900. The young trees are growing with surprising
rapidity and Professor Roth figures that without cutting a live
$1.00 per Year.
tree tlle land will pay the expense of protection and less than
lorty years hence will be worth more than 200 times what the
state asked but was unable to g;ei for it.
Prof. Roth ridiculed the idea that "it requires 150 years to
gro\'v' a big cork pine. A vcry repectable tree will grow in
70 years," he declared.
H. C. Beardsley, formerly timber
agent for the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company
which had a large grant of Michigan lands, corroborated
Prof. Roth's statement in regard to excessive and unfair
taxation, causing the rapid destruction of the forests.
vVil1iam \Viddicomb, the veteran furniture manufacturer,
gave an entertaining talk on "One Furniture Vvood"-mahogany. He told of the peculiar growth of the tree, the difficulties encountered in cutting it and getting it to market
and how the wood is obtained by the furniture makers, the
fine5t being purcb::.sed at fabulous figures at the a.uction sales
in England. To illustrate his talk, he exhibited three fine
boards finished in the natural color, one of true mahogany
from San Domingo, another of the Mexican variety and
another about ten inches wide sawn out of a limb from a
tree cut ill Honduras.
Mahogany is an evergreen, said Mr.
Widdicomb.
Tt is a member of the cedar family. There
arc several different varieties of the tree. They are found
in Mexico, Central and South America, the West Indies, in
(Continued on Page 20.)
THE CORRECT
Stains and fillers.
THE MOST
SATISFACTORY
first
Coaters and
Varnishes
---------------------
-
-
-
Central furniture Company
ROCKfORD,
WHOLESALE
ILLINOIS
MANUFACTURERS
OF
"IG" GRADE fURNITURE
COMBINATION BOOKCASES
LIBRARY BOOKCASES, CHINA CLOSETS
BUFFETS
I
(jj Better made goods than ever.
.
(jj Better styles than ever.
(jj Better prices than ever.
(jj WHY?
Because we do not spend hundreds of dollars
showing our line at Furniture Expositions.
F. T. PLIMPTON & CO.
8th Floor, 1319Michigan Ave., CHICAQO
REPRESENTING:
Humphrey Book Case Co.
Preston & Kourki
Sedional Book Cases, Phonograph Cahinet'
Goshen Novelty and Brush Co.
Banta Furniture Co.
Extension Tables. Dining Room Suites
Campbell Smith Ritchie Co.
Kitchen Cabinets, Wardrobes
Billow-Lupfer Co.
Mattresses, F eathe", Box Springs--guar.
Spencer & Barnes Co.
Alwin Go-Cart., Shaving Stand., AdjuStable
Bed-Tables
BissellC~et
Novelties in Mission F urnifure. Lamps
anteed Five Years
Sidway Mercantile Co.
=====
Imported Brass Novelties, Oriental Rugs
Bed Room Furniture·-·Mahogany, Birdseye
Maple, Oak
Sweepers .- Brass Candle Sticks
Samples on 5th Floor.
=====
Open Entire Year
19
M,esserSMiDis
An Advertisement
Reproduc6u from the Buffalo Courier of April 28, 1907. The Original Occupied Space
181nches Deep
Across
SiR ColulDns,
20
(Continued from Page 17.)
Africa and other sections of the world, but the true mahogany
tree is found only on the western hemisphere and there north
of the equator.
Mexic.an mahogany and, lately, the African
variety are largely used by the furniture makers, but the best,
-the true mahogany-comes from the West Indies, the very
best from San Domingo. The tree grows frequently to a
height of 150 or 175 feet-70 or 80 feet without a limb. The
limbs branch out like those of the live oak, the top spreading
over a space 150 feet in diameter.
In order to stand against
the hurricanes of the tropics the tree is buttressed or braced
by the roots which arc of immense size above the ground.
In order to fell a tree it is necessary to erect a scaffold on
which the workmen stand to cut it off above the bracing
roots.
In speaking of the English auctioJ1s I\.Jr, Widdicomb said
that in 1903 two mahogany logs were sold at Liverpool fOJ"
something over $8,000. A sman log brought $300 per thousand feet, board measure. Later a single log-sQuared-sold
for $15,768. It was bought by Americans and the speaker
modestly admitted that the Widdicomb Furniture Company
is tense with desire. Just at the right time he gives it a toss
and away the beautiful thing soars to meet the sky. He was
ready when the wind blew.
:Many failures in this world come from trying to fly kites
after the wind has reached its height and begun to die down.
The mall that tries that way may get his kite up half way and
then see it drop helplessly to the earth.
Discouraging, isn't
it?
Out
West
there
are
a
good
many
land
booms.
Who
are
the
men
that
make
money
out of them?
K ot the men who come late and buy
land when the boom has reached the crest and begun to go
down on the other side. Oh, no. It was the man who was
on the spot early and was ready to sell when the price had
climbed to the top and the late-comer put in an appearance.
Out in the western part of this state a man had a
thousand bushels of potatoes to sell one -year. He thought
he saw a chance to make some money out of the crop. They
were bringing·a good fair price, but he thought that wasn't
just time to sell. He would wait till they were a little higher.
And he did wait. The price began to go down. The breeze
had spent its force and his kite was still in his hand waiting
-~--=..-~-:~-_..~
A FEW SAM.PLES FROM THE LARGE LINE OF DlNING TABLES MANUFACTURED BY THE
IMPERIAL FURNITURE COMPANY., GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
got" a piece of it." These logs were from San Domingothe true mahogany.
"The English manufacturers," said Mr.
Widdicomb," are frequently quite jealous, when Americans
out-bid them at the auctions."
Ernest A. Stowe, president of the Grand Rapids Board of
Trade talked on the "Use and Abuse of Trees" giving some
valuable information as to the value and care of shade trees.
Proper Time to Fly Your Kite.
Have you ever tried to fly a kite? If not, watch some
little chap before you begin. You will get some pointers about
the matter that will stand you in good stead, not only in the
business of flying kites, but also in the more serious affairs
of life. The kite is done. The tail is furnished with bits of
paper or cloth to give the proper balance, The lad is out
on some high point of land. watching. Watching? For what?
Listen! "Here she comes! Get ready for it!"
Down there in the valley yon hear· a rushing sound. The
trees bend before the wind. In a moment it will be here.
Get ready. And the lad does get ready. Before the breeze
strikes the knoll his kite is face to the wind. Every nerve
fo" the fresher gale .. It did not come. He kept his potatoes
till they went clear down to smash. Many of them he fed
out to the cattle. Did it pay? A::;k him. He has some
positive views on the subject now.
The time to fly kites is when the wind blows. What is
your particular line of business?
Be ready for the breeze.
Put up your kite and see it sail to the sunshine. Takes a
smart man to know just when to do that.
It certainly does,
but it is the smart
men that
win. in this world.
All
the
rest
are
sitting
under
the
awning
wondering
why
luck
did
not
stand
by
them
as
well as by the other feHow. Half the victories of this life
come from knowing when to strike. How can a man get the
gift of hitting the spot at the precise moment?
Isn't it, after
all, a gift, and not something everyone may have? The
secret of it is in this plain truth:
No hound ever caught a
fox unless he kept his eyes open, his mouth open and his legs
on the keen scoot.-Spare
Moments,
Wise is the man who knows just what to say-and
not to say it.
when
21
Secret of Remarkable Success.
Many furniture men are interested in the extraordinary
sUccess of the Northern Furniture Company of Sheboygan,
'Vis., Wl1ich, in a few years, has grown from a modest beginning to the largest manufacturers of bedroom, dining room
and kitchen furniture in the world.
Just ",,-hathas caused or
contributed to the phenomenal success of the Northern is a
matter of something like mystery to many less successful
manufacturers, though most of the dealers know how Oley
do it.
Those well acquainted with the product of the company and who have met the managers and salesmen can g-ive
good reasons for its success, but to those who have not b-een
so fortunate a little explacation may be acceptable.
One of the leading causes of the success of the Northern
was the fael lhat its managers ·were among the First to notice
the drift of public taste toward the simple though elegant and
tasty styles.
For years most manufacturers and dealers had
entertained the idea that only the wealthy possessed taste
good enoug"h to appreciate simple designs and plain elegance
in furniture.
For the masses it was thought necessary to
provide cheap, over-ornamented, highly colored stuff, but the
Northern people djd not like that idea. Tbey believed tbat
the ordinary people had taste equal to that of the wealthy
and they proceeded on that line. They threw out most of
their carving machines, turned their attention to the plain and
durable, though really elegant designs, used good materials
and the best of workmanship even on their cheapest productions and the results were surprising even to themselves.
The plan was a success from its inception.
Another point in the success of the Northern people is
that their aim is not merely to unload their furniture on the
retail dealers but to see that it moves quickly out of the dealer'swarerooms to make place for another order. The Northern people would rather destroy a job lot than force it on
Richmond Chair CO.
RICHMOND,,\;INDIANA
Made b}~Mechanics Furniture
Co., Rockford:, Ill.
some dealer who would not be able to sell it. Their motto
is "Sell only quick seIIers."
Still another element in the success of the Northern
people is the fact that they are good advertisers. They also
conduct business on thc highest plane, give each and all fair
honorable treatment and thus secure the respect anq confidence of their patrons_
Advertising "Before the War."
The New York Press recently reproduced a few advertisements that appeared in Horace Greeley's N ewYork Tribune in 1859. The advertisements in those days "before the
·war" did not "run to spate and display" as much as they do
nowad;tys.
Neither did they go into particulars to such an
extent as at present and the cuts were lacking.
Here is a
copy of one used by one of the most enterprising furniture
dealers of hj5 day:
Doullie Cane Line
SEE OUR
NEW PATTERNS
CATALOGUES TO THE TRADE
"FURNITURE
EXTRAORDINARY."
The finest kind of Broadway furniture ean be purchased of
H. P. DeGRAAF,
at K o. 87 Bowery, at about half Broadway prices.
He employs 150 hands, and lays in his stock for net cash.
His
store is 240 feet deep, and six stories high, filled from
ROOF TO BASEMENT
with all qualities of
FURNITURE
AND MATTRESSES
And-he says he will not at/ow himself to be undersold by
any man.
TheM and
s Line
IT SELLS
and
SATISFIES
Do you know that we. have been making
upholstered
furniture
more than two decades
and satisfying our customers every minute of
that time?
We are making the line that Sells
and Satiyies and would be pleased to add your
name to our list that you may become a satisfied customer.
Everything for the Parlor, the Library and Drawing
Room will be found in oue July Exhibit.
MUELLER & SLACK CO.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
OF COURSE
THE
STANDARD
LINE
OF AMERICA
IS MADE
BY THE
ROCKFORD STANDARD FURNITURE CO.
ROCKFORD, ILL.
WHO ELSE
COULD MAKE IT)
China
Closets
Combination
Cabinets
Buffets
Library Cases·
Write for New Catalogue.
Watch for oLlr ad next month.
No. 919 Buffet
23
Valley City Desk Company
Grand Rapids,
Mich.
We can furnish you desks in
any grade. Reasonable prices and
high quality are what you are looking for. Our line on exhibition
Top Floor, North,
Furniture Exhibition
Building
G RAND RAPIDS, MICH.
No
114
CATALOGUE MAILED TO DEALERS ONLY.
r;:::::::=
Quality - Individuality
The distinguishing
feature of a
PAINE PIECE
is its
INDIVIDUALITY
We make
Davenports, Odd Sofas
and Library Chairs.
Suites and Leather Goods.
We make them
GOOD
and we make them
DIFFERENT
No.
275
Quality in Upholstery
C. S. PAINE CO., Ltd.
GRAND RAPIDS
,
•
DRESSER
LOUIS XVI SUITI:: IN SOLID MAHOGANY
MADE BY THE
NELSON-MATTER
FURNITURE
CO ..
GRAND RAPIDS. MICH.
CHEVAL
CHIFFONIER
BED
TOILET TABI-E
25
THAT PACIFIC COAST TRUST TRAIL.
Charges in the Indictment Against the Furniture Men in the
Far West.
During the first week in June the federal grand jury in
Portland, Ore., found 182 "true bills" against furniture manufacturers, jobbers and retailers in California~ Oregon, \Vashingtoll and Idaho, who are charged with having organized
and maintained a conspiracy to restrain trade in violation of
of the Shennan anti-trust 1a,'l_ The charge as set forth in the
indictments reads as follows: "That during the whole or a
part of the time [lioresaid (being from June 7, 1904, to June
cularly amongst the States of Oregon, Washington, California
Montana and Idaho, and engage in a certain combination, conspiracy, confederation and agreement in restraint
of trade and commerce then being carried on among the
several states in the United States, and particularly among
the last-mentioned states; that is to say, a certain combination, conspiracy, confederation and agreement in restraint of
trade al1d commerce, t]len being carried on among said states
in furniture and household goods, and that said unlawful combination, conspiracy, confederation and agreement for the
restraint of the said commerce."
As 'will be seen in the charge the "trust" is alleged to have
existed for the past three years. The methods of transacting
business are said to have been very much like those used by
the "Prudential
Club" ",ihich recently "came to grief" in
Chicago, but the western organizations have a much wider
scope and their rttles and regulations are not so stringent nor
so effective as were those ttsed by the church and school
furniture men. It is said that very few of the indicted dealers
had any intention of violating the law when they became
members of the organizations.
The manufacturers also deny
their guilt. And it is said none of them will plead guilty.
The indictments, however,are accompanpied by specific charges
describing certain transactions showing how the combinations
were managed and if these allegations can be supported by
sufficient evidence some of the officers and managers seem to
be in danger of conviction.
Window
Made by Mueller & Slack Co .• Grand Rapids, Mich.
6, 1907,) defendants were members of at least one of certain
retail furniture dealers' associations, namely, the Northwest
Furniture Exchange, the Northwest Furniture Dealers' Protective Association, the Oregon Retail Furniture Dealers'
Association, the Portland Retail Furniture Dealers' Association or the Lewiston Furniture Dealers' Club, engaged in the
business of buying at wholesale and sclling at retail, furniture
and household goods, vvhich they, the said retailers and members of the aforesaid last-mentioned associations would and
had secured and purchased from the said manufacturers,
wholesalers and jobbers of the same, who resided and were
doing business in states other than those in which said retailers resided and ,vexe doing business, and Frank F. Freeman, who was at the time aforesaid the secretary of the aforesaid the Northwest Retail Furniture Dealers' Protective Association, and who was at the time aforesaid the secretary of
the Oregon Retail Furniture Dealers' Association, and who
did during the period aforesaid co-operate with and assist
the above-named defendants in the organizing and bringing
about of and accomplishing the purpose of a certain unlawful
combination, conspiracy, confederation and agreement hereinafter in this court more del-lnitely set forth, the aforesaid
defendants and all of them in the 1:itateand district of Oregon
and within the jurisdiction of this court did, during the period
aforesaid, knowlingly, wilfully, unlawfully and maliciously
conspire, combine, confederate and agree together between
and amongst themselves to restrain trade and commerce
amongst the several states of the United States, and parti-
Trimmers
and Advertising
Men.
In the smaller stores, the manager or owner of the store
does the advertising, so that it is easy for the window~trimmer
and this advertising man to get together and plan out the
best things to put in the window. But in the larger store,
where there is an advertising man, when he conceives an
idea for a special sale, it is only proper that hc and the
window artist discuss the question of getting the public interested as much as possible. How the goods shall be placed
in the window will, of course, be left to the trimmer.
In some stores the trimmer does the advertising for the
store, and this man can supplement his ads with windows of
the same goods or supplement his windows with advertisements of the same wares. You can readily imagine that this
combination would bring results granted, of course, that the
man was capable. This same close relation of the two departments should obtain e'iten where they are presided over
by two individuals. These heads of departments should work
together for the common good.
Grand Rapids Caster Cup Co.
2 Parkwood A.... Grand Rapids, Mich.
We arc now putting aD the best Caster Cups with cork bases ever
to the trade.
These are finished in Golden Oak and White Maple
in a light finish. These goods are admirable for polished floors a~d furn-
offeree
iture rests. They will not sweat or mar.
PRIGES:
Size 2U inches••.... $4.00 per hundred
Sizt;2M inches······
5.00 per hundred
T1'jI a Sample Order.
F. O.B. Grand .Rupia..
26
ROYAL MANTEL & rURNITURf COMPANY
ROCKFORD,
Manufacturers
of FINE
ILLINOIS
and MEDIUM
FURNITURE
WE DO Nor MAKE MAN7~LS
TJ-\t:= ROYAL
LINE:
will be found as usual in CHICAGO, 6th floor,
1319 Michigan Ave .. and in NEW YORK at the
Furniture Exchange during July.
Buffets, China Closets, Combination
Bookcases
and Library Bookcases.
SPRATT'S
CHAIRS
ARE THE JOy OF THE CHILDREN.
Our new CHILD'S MISSION ROCKER was a winner from the start.
Write for Catalogue and prices. Our line is large and prices are right.
We make
CHAIRS
GROWNUPS
as well as
The White Directory
CONTAINS A CAREFIJLLY COMPILED LIST
OF MANIJFACTIJRERS OF
FURNITURE, PIANOS,ORGANS,
INTERIOR FINISHES
CHILDREN.
AND KINDRED INDUSTRIES
GEORGE
Now Ready.
Send in your order.
SPRATT
& co.
Sheboyvn,
Wis.
Say you
SQ=
tllis ad in the
Michigan Artisan.
WHITE PRINTING COMPANY
PRINTERS.
ENGRAVERS,
PUBLISHER.S,
BINDERS
2-20 LYON ST., GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
27
Caliinet Makers
In these days of close competition,
need the best possible equipment,
and this they can have in • . . •
BARNES'
Hand and Foot
POWER
Machinery
Our New nand and foot
Power Cll"cula ...Saw No.4
The strongest, most powerful, and in ~very way the best
machine of its kind ever made, for ripping,
cross-cutting. boring and grooving.
Send for our New Catalogue.
"W. F. ®. JOHN BARNES CO.
654 Ruby Street. Rochford. Ill.
The Ford 8 Johnson Co.
MANUFACTURERS
Chicago Salesroom
Ford-Johnson
Bldg., 1433-35-37 Wabash Ave.
For the July market we will have many new things
to show. All furniture dealers are cordially invited to
call and inspect our line, which includes Chairs, Rockers
and Settees---all goods; Dining Room furniture; Mission
furniture; Fiber Rush and Malacca furniture; Reed Rockers; Children's Go-Carts and
Carriages, etc.
WE ALSO SHOW SAMPLES AT OUR OWN SALESROOMS IN
Cincinnati
Atlanta
New York
Boston
28
Use for Mail Order Catalogues.
There is said to be nothing so bad but what it might be
worse; there is nothing so utterly useless but what it might
be put to some good use. As an eye-opener to many a sleepy
dealer, the mail-order house catalogue is a whole brass band
at the head of a torch-light parade.
"I never thought before that people would go to a hardware store for that/ remarked a small~town dealer recently
in the writer's hearing, "until I noticed it was listed in the
hardware department of a mail-order house catalogue.
Oh,
yes, I read them regularly now; it used to be spasmodic, till
I got my awakening jolt over this little article. When I
first saw it listed I laughed to myself, then got to thinking
it over and wondered, why not; then it occurred to me that I
had had a few calls for that very article. Now I look over
all the mail-order catalogues I get my hands on and very
often get awakened to SOUlenew thing that I ought to keep
and don't. Those fellows as a rule are bright men, and know
Underwriters
Discuss Protective
Methods.
The eleventh annual convention of the National Fire Protection Association was held in New York.
The usual discussions on modern methods of fire protection and the reports
of -committees on special hazards were listened to with deep
interest.
The importance of the work which the Association is
doing in the direction of standardizing fire protection devices
and bringing about uniform requirements for betterments in
construction was forcibly brought out in the opening address
of President C. A. Hexamer.
A comparison, he said, of the
per capita fire loss in this country in 1906 with that in six
prominent countries of Europe shows that the former was
$3.30, including the San Francisco loss, and $2.25 excluding
it, while the latter was only 33 cents. The percentage '0£
loss to premiums received by all the fire insurance companies
reporting to the New York department last year showed the
unprecedented ratio of %.9 per cent, a ratio, continued Mr.
Made by Valley City De8ki:Co., GrandJRa,pids, Mich.
what the people want, often better than I do. Several articles they have by their lists induced me to keep in stock I
bave found to bc exceptional sellers.
"It has taught me this lesson, too. If I, with a life long
experience, do not know what I want to keep in stock until
I see it listed elsewhere, it is pretty good evidence that there
are others who want something that they do not realize until
they see it; then they buy. If they had happened to see it
first in some house catalugue the chances are they would
have bought there and probably a lot of other stuff along with
it. 'Vbo could blame them?
One thing though, make all the use possible of the mailorder house catalogue but do not leave it kicking about the
store or office. If a customer happens to see it be may become interested, if he hasn't any particular scruples against
dealing with foreign firms; if he has, he will conclude that I
am myself a patron of the catalogue-house and that if he is
to take that quality of goods from the -local store anyway, he
may as well send off direct and get the goods first hand. It's
good logic on his part, if he catches yoU studying these catalogues; but it isn't good business on your part to let him
catch you."-H~ware.
Hexamcr '~lhich certainly merits the attention of the highest
legislative bodies of the nation.
The committee 011 special hazards and fire record submitted
a report which stated that the year 1906-7 was especially
noteworthy in the large Humber of heavy losses due to failure
of sprinklers to hold fire in check. Of seven fires which
caused a property loss of two millions of dollars, three were in
New England, viz., thc Lynn fire, the Dover (N, H.) fire and
the Springfield (Mass.) fire.
Tips Exceed Wages.
The large furniture houses have men to go around and
fix up any scratch or damage a customer may find in goods
he has bought. His presence in a house, with his snug kit
of tools and polishes, usually emphasizes the wabbly legs
of an old chair, the scar· in the table top which Freddie's shoe
made months ago, and a score of other things with which
the repair man has no concern. But he fixes them readily
enough, though sometimes pressed for time, and he always
carries away a good-sized tip. Some days the money thus
earned "on the side" exceeds the repairer's salary from the
firm.-New
York Sun.
-
-
---------------------
7IR'T' I t5' A...N
1
Character in Furniture.
"Quality" in furniture is not so lightly <:onsidcred that the
manufacturer can afford to disregard it. In fact those manufacturers who do not claim some intrinsic goodness for their
particular product are cultivating a speaking acquaillLance
with the bankruptcy court. But quality is not all. i\ silk
gown of tbe early forties \vould hardly be appropriate in a
modern ball-room.
The ''cluality'·' would be there but the
"style" has changed.
A solid mahogany davenport in an expensive covering made by high class workmen would hardly
be saleable unless it had that indefinable something called
"style."
l\lr. Paine of the C. S. Paine Co., in a reccnt intervie\v
emph;lsized
the
above
distinctio11. "Furniture"
said 1Ir.
Paine "to be salenble mnst be distinctive as_well as good.
It
$ ,. •
29
ing, fourth floor. Geo. C. Dyer will meet his metropolitan
friends, Ernest IL vVilliams wilt represent the Middle West,
J. D. Douglas, the Pacific Coast and H. M. Robins, the South.
How To Treat a Salesman.
"How would you treat a traveling salesman?" asked a reUiilcr of :t -vetc:,;w commercial traveler.
"Treat him the best
you know ho~v," caine the answer quickly. "1£ you can buy,
stop your work and buy; if you can't buy, say so. Remember
that the traveling salesman, 110 matter how jolly a fellow he
may be, is busy making- a living for himself and family. Re~
member that traveling expenses are high and that he has just
a limited time to devote to your town and generally even a
shorter tillle to you. Treat him right always. Remember,
MADE BY C. S. PAINE CO., GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
must express t:haracter.
The individuality of the line must be
so marked that an ordinary furnitut'e man can 'spot' it. The
retail customer must be attracted by the character of the piece
as well as by its goodness.
We make a big effort to secure
this individuality in our line. ~IallY a design though otherwise good is rejected, because its character is not suffic.iently
distinctive.
We are bringing out this season nearly seventyfive entirely new patterns everyone
of which is purely and
exclusively 'Paine.'
We look {or the largest volume of
busine!:iS we have ever had."
The Paine line will be s}lOwn in the large exhibition build-
too, th;1t you can always get a better deal from the traveling
man than from the firm direct.
This applies to every busi-
ness; and why? Because the commercial traveler is sent Qut
to sell goods.
That is what the house pays him for, and the
house wants you to deal -with him, not with the house."
Lives of many great men remind us,
As we learn them day by day,
That they'd best be put behind us,
Out of sight and far away.
MADE BY C. S. PAINE CO., ORAND RAPIDS, MICH.
IT'S BECAUSE
WE HAVE
THE RIGHT KIND OF MECHANICS
THAT
~
MAKE
THE
RIGHT KIND of FURNITURE
MECHANICS
FURNITURE
COMPANY
•
ROCKFORD,
ILLINOIS
Write for neW Catalogue
and keep your eye p~eled
for this space ne~t month.
UNION FURNITURE
CO.
ROCKFORD, ILL.
The New Banquet Table Top
a~weil
aI
OFFICE, DINING and DIRECTORS'
TABLES are
001'"
specialty.
China Closets
Buffets
Bookcases
We Icad in Style, Comtrudion
and· Finish. See our Catalogue,
OUT
line on permanent exhibi~
lion 7th Floor, New Manufacturers' Building, Grand Rapids.
STOW & DAVIS FURNITURE CO..
Write far Catalogue.
2:clt..':""'·
Gel sample:tof BANQUET TABLE TOP.
W
E manufacture the largest line of FOLDING
CHAIRS
in the United
State8~ 8ttitable for Sunday
Schools, Hall.s, Steamers and.
all PUblic Resorts.
. • . .
We also manufacture
Brass
Trimmed Iron Beds, S-pt'ing
Beds, Cots and Cribs in a
larKe variety. . . .
~d for Catalocue
aDd Price. to
Kauffman Mfg. CO.
"SULANO.
OUIO
Thousands
in Use
Furniture Dealers need have no more
fear. With the use of Cline's Caster
Cup one table may be placed on top
of another without injury.
Made in two sizes in the follow~
tog finishes: Oak, Mahogany and Ro-5ewood. Special prepared felt bottom, preventing ,sweat marks, scratching, etc.
Price: 2)( in. per 100, $3.50; 3);; in. perlOO. $4.50
We alsomanuiacture IRe most reliable C.s.rd Holder on the market.
Write for our new 40 page Catalogue.
L. Cline Mfg.Co.• 123.Wah •• hAv ... Chicago
31
Something DiffERENT in Couches
No. 155
$4.00
WOVEN WIRE
Net
COUC"
We have made for some time, Couches and Davenports with woven wire tops.
OUf
latest essay in
this line is Dlffl:RENT. Made and shipped K. D. Easily set up. A trIal order will convince.
SMIT" ~ Dt\VIS MfG. CO., St. louis.
Johnson Chair CompJny
CHICAGO,
.
- ILLINOIS
Manufacturers
_
Office Chairs,
Dining Chairs, Bedroom Chairs,
and
Parlor Rockers
Sendfor our new catalogue, just out,
illustrating our entire line.
PERMANENT EXHIBIT:
Furniture Exhibition Building, 1411Michigan Avenue
32
PACIFIC COAST CONDITIONS
BUSINESS IN SAN FRANCISCO DEMORALIZED BY
LABOR TROUBLES AND A HALT IN REAL ESTATE SPECULATIONS.
Bankers and Business Men Combine to Fight the Strikers
and Speculators-A
Slump in the Price of Lumber.
Oregon and Washington.
I did not go down to Los Angeles.
In Oregon and Washington-at
Portland, Seattle
and Tacoma-general
business is good.
Those towns have
certainly been benefited by San Francisco's misfortunes. They
have felt no falling off in any line of trade or industry, except in the lumber business.
There has been a slump of
$1.50 to $2.00 per thousand in the price of lumber recently,
due, in part at least, to San Francisco's halt in building operations.
"Whether San Francisco dealers will buy as freely as usual
at the summer exposition is doubtful. Conditions there are not
"Business affairs in San Francisco are in bad shape," said
Charles R Sligh, the well known Grand Rapids furniture
manufacturer, who has just returned from the Pacific coast,
where he spent four weeks looking after his business and timber interests. "I was in San Francisco in June last year-about
six weeks after the earthquake," he continued.
"Then the
future of the city \vas doubtful.
Some thought it would
never be rebuilt, but doubt gave way to confidence and the
city has already been rebuilt to a large extent and there is
now no question as to its future.
The amount of rebuilding
done during the year is surprising.
Comparing present conditions ,""ith those of a year ago it does not seem possible
that the change was made in so short a time.
"Just now, however, building operations are practically at
a standstill and business of all kinds is more or less paralyzed.
The trouble is due mainly to the strikes, but a halt in real
estate speculation has also had. a bad effect.
When I left
the city there were no less than seventeen strikes in progress besides the street railway strike.
Most of the strikes
are in the building trades, but all kinds of business are affected and there is no telling when the trouble will end.
The
bankers and business men have apparently joined with the
the contractors and manufacturers to down the strikers and
there is little doubt of their success, but it may be a long
Made by Valley City Desk Co., Grand Rapids, M.ich.
fight.
"The bankers have also shut down on the real estate and
other speculators.
Real estate speculation had been carried
to an extreme that made it dangerous and the bankers were
obliged to make some effort to call a halt.
There is plenty
of money in the banks, but it cannot be borrowed for speculative purposes.
The speculators, when they cannot obtain
money to meet their obligations will have to throw their
holdings on the market and sell for whatever they can get;
some of them have already been obliged to do so.
As a
consequence values are uncertain and their business is demoralized.
"The halt in real estate speculation is not confined to San
Francisco.
It extends to all towns on the coast, or, at least,
all north of San Francisco, though it is not so noticeable in
(ESTABLISHED
lass)
encouraging, but they are hopeful and may bank on an early
settlement of the labor troubles which would assure them a
booming fall trade.
Dealers in Washington and Oregon are
prosperous and will probably place orders larger than usual."
Merchants Organize a Fire Insurance
Company.
The Retail Merchants Exchange of Los Angeles, which is
composed of sixteen commercial organizations, at a recent
meeting took preliminary steps to organize a mutual fire insurance company, which is to be known as the Merchants'
Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Southern California.
It
was decided that the company should have a reserve fund of
$50,000 at the start and to bea "non-boarder."
BERRY BROTHERS'
Rubbing and Polishing Varnishes
MUST BE USED IN FURNITURE
WORK
TO BE APPRECIATED
THEY SETTLE THE VARNISH QUESTION WHEREVER TRIED
WRITE FOR INFORMATION,
FINISHE.O
WOOD
Si\MPLES,
AND
LITERATURE.
BERRY BROTHERS.
VARNISH
NEW YORK,
THIS IS THE CAN
AND LABEL
ii10STON,
BALTIMORE.
MANUFACTURERS
DETROIT
PHIUDELPH'A,
CANADIAN
LIMITED
FACTORY, WALKERVILLE
CHICAGO,
CINCINNATI,
ST. LOUIS.
ONTARiO
SAN .. RANCIBCO.
REMINISCENT.
Twenty-eight years ago the writer gained his first irnpres~
siems and knowledge regarding the Grand Rapids furniture exposition.
No ol1t-of-to·wn lines were exhibited and the
local lines werE: few in number and, in comparison with the
Jines of today, unimportant.
The Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, Nelson & 1\Jatter, the \Viddicomb Furniture
Company, the Phoenix Furniture Company and the Grand
Rapids Chair Company and Stow & Haight were the only exhibitors, and yet in view of the fact that the lines exhibited
would be considered of little conse.quence today they were
strong enough to attract huyers from the leading retail houses
of the United States to Grand Rapids.
The writer remembers having met in the market twenty-eight years ago ]'Vfr.
Hildreth oi Holton & Hildreth, 1h. Schone of Vv'irts &
Scholle, Jacob Beicrsdorf, Harry \Vright of the Tobey Furniture Company and John II,!. Colby of Chicago; Mr. I\Jatthews
of Milwaukee; Clark A. Brockway, representing Marcus Stevens, and George \V. Fowle of Detruit; A, S. Hereoden and
Mr. Barstow of Cleve1alld; C. F. Doll of Schlund & Doll, Buffalo; Johnny Hand, Fred Pulhrnan, R. 1. Horner and Mr. DeGraaf of New York; '\ilr. Stone of Dewey & Stone, Omaha;
Mr. DeCostar of DeCostar & Clark, St. Paul; 1'\'1r.Phelps of
Phelps & Bradstreet, Millllcapolis; Co1. Abernathy of Leavenworth; John H. Sanderson (of capitol furnishing notoriety),
Philadelphia; \V. B. J\'loses of \Vashington;
Mr. Minch, 1'/1r.
Chalmers and Mr. \V2.Lte of B;l1timore; Sam Burrell and Mr.
Jones of St. Louis; }1r. Elder of Indianapolis;
Mr. Barth
of Louisville; Mr. Plum, Mr. Heeney and 1'fr. Cole of San
Francisco.
1'l1r. Conant and :r..-rr. IVleilink of Toledo; Mr.
Orison and Mr. Keith of Kansas City, and othe-rs whof-c
l1am~s are for the moment forgotten.
The spring season
opened in March and the fall season in August.
Of the salesmen who received and attended the visiting buyers, :.vir.
\Vheelock and 11r. Fitch of Nelson & ::'I.'1atter,!'vir. Sligh and
¥r. Corson of the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, Mr.
Foote of the Gr::tl1dRapids Chair Company, Mr. W. H. Jon~s
Jacob Moore of the Grand Rapids Furniture
Company, John E. Foster of the \Viddicomb Furniture Company, and R. J. Stow of Stow & Haight are remembered. The
hotels were small, and many of the conveniences deemed
essential to health and comfort by the commercial tourist
of today were lacking. ]\1any of the buyers mentioned above
have passed away, but the market grows and will continue to
grow in importt.nce to the end of time.
The art of manufacturing is planted in Grand Rapids as firmly as sculpture
i.n haly, painting in France and music in Germany.
A. S. WHITE.
of the Phoenix,
"Fancy Furniture."
~lallY years ago the Oriel Cabinet company commenced
advertising their lille as "fancy furniture."
The goods were
morc realistic than fanciful, although in their design play
was given to the ingeniollsness of the designer.
Factories
producing "fancy furnitme" began to multiplY and so lllaHy .
"freaks" were brought out and designated "[auc.,,-· that lrauagel' C. \V. Black, decided upon a departure for the Oriel
Cabinet company. Sometime ago it was annolltlced that
the OTicl. Cabinet company .vauld thereaitcl.· manufacture
furniture novelties, a term that suggests the line of work produced more tittillgly than·' "fancy".
The Oriel is showing
many furniture novelties this season.
Steadily Progressing.
Since the new purchasers of the Grand R~-ipids Farnitt:re
company (formedy the Nev,.· England) took 1JOS3C·.~;~('1l of the
property, steady pTogress has been made in improving the
quality of the line and in placing the same on the floor of the
leading retailers of the United States. A marked advance has
bcen made for the fal! season of trade, and buyers visiting
Grand Rapids should not leav{~the market before making an
inspection of the company's offerings.
34
The Udell Works
Are Now Ready With Their New Line 01 Sample,
in Grand_Rapids Only. July, 1907 Exhibit.
4th Floor. S,,-uth Hall. F uroiture Exhibition Buading.
LARGER
BETTER
CHEAPER
Ladies Desks,
Music Cabinets,
Bookcases.
Library Tables
YOU will be the loser
if you don't see them.
1242 MiSHion Desk
1245 Mission Desk
THE UDELL WORKS, Indianapolis,Indiana,U. S. A.
fJ
Get on our Mailing List for New Catalog in July.
The New
"PERFECT"
Robbins Tabl6 60.
FOLDING CliAIR
Comfortable
Simple
OW0550, Mi6higan
Durable
Neat
The Acme of Perfection
Folding Chairs.PBRP"H(:T
when folded.
WRITE
in the line of
COMPACTJ'(ESS
for PRICES
The PeabodY School
Furniture Co.
North Mancheater.
•
..
lndlana
MANUFACTURERS OF
HARDWOOD ~~~~i
SPECIALTIES:
No. 318. AMERICAN
44x48 IN. TOP,
OAK.
AMERICAN BASE.
7 IN. PILLAR.
~'l.U;1?l'l3QUAR.
OAK VENEERS
MAHOGANY
VENEERS
HOFFMAN
BROTHERS COMPANY
804 W. Main St"
FORT WAYNE, iNDIANA
t.
3S
EXTENSION
TABLES
Complete
Line
(lur new
space
sho\lln
in
FURNITURE
EXHIBITION
BUILDING
First Floor, North Half.
Grand
ST. JOHNS TABLE
CADILLAC,
Rapids,
Mich.
COMPANY
MICH.
Cf\}3lNET Mf\KER~ CO·
Grand Rapids,
Michige.n ...
New Dining Room Suites
No. 1115, CUBAN
MAHOGANY.
New Library Tables, Desks and Sewing Tables.
These are all novelties---something different from anything on the market.
FLOOR, SOUTH HALF, MANUFACTURERS' BUILDING.
John Samuelson, F. H. Bogges, C. F. McGregor, M. D. Blum, A. T. Kingsbury and Robert Baxter.
FIRST
36
ESTABL.ISHED
",(i
,
~
*1* *!=ll *1* *1*
"
,
,"'~~
~
reasons why every dealer should become a market buyer.
The arguments presented by Mr. Meyers are unanswerable.
18BO
.~:\.
'-~
--"""""'!'
-
-
~
PUElL.I$HI!!:D BT
MICHIGAN
ON THE
OFF1CE-2-20
10TH AND
LYON
ARTISAN
25TH
CO.
OF EACH
ST .• GRANO
MONTH
RAPIDS.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
MICH.
ENTERED AS MATTER OF THE SECOND Cl.AS~
The growth of agitation in the trade press and retail merchants' organizations against what they call the mail-order
evil, affords opportunity to a class of promoters who, without
any personal preference or interest in the matter, offer to cooperate with the oppressed merchants in their efforts to
check the advance of the enemy.
Those promoters advance
various schemes to put the mail-order houses out of business,
but nearly all of them arc merely plans to bleed the merchants
individually or through the associations.
Very few, if any,
of them, even if worked out as planned would have any effect
on. the catalogue trade nor would they benefit the merchants
in any way.
In nine cases out of ten, at least, the merchant
who, individually or through association with others, goes into
any scheme to fight the mail-order houses fmds that it costs
him more than he loses through the mail-order competition.
The only way for a retail merchant to meet the dreaded encroac'hments of the catalogue dealers is to improve his business methods, make the most of his location and natural advantages and work his field to the limit.
Mail-order competition has few terrors for the live, up-tn-date retail dealer.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
The past month has been a strenuOUS one for President
Kanitz of the Muskegon Valley Furniture Company, and Secretary Foote of the Grand Rapids Chair Company.
What
with the work of closing up their lines for the fall season of
trade and defending the management of their pet institution,
the Michigan Soldiers' Home, they have llad no time to attend the camp fires or their regimental reunions.
The institution and the lines are a11 right" and ever will be a long as
Messrs. Kanitz and Foote shall remain in their present activities.
Both are honorable and able men.
Il
*\* *\* *1* *\*
The action taken by the railroads in several western
states, as noted on another page, shows that they are determined to fight the two-cent fare laws to a finish and if defeatedthey plan to retaliate by raising freight rates through new
regulations and changes in classification.
They may sllcceed
in defeating the people in this matter, but it will be an empty
victory.
It will only encourage the Socialists and tend to
convince the people that the government should not only
control, but should O\vn the railroads.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
Every customer, whether man, woman or child, rCll'"lembers
the store where they have been kindly treated.
Salesmen
should be made to understand that everybody's call is important.
No man likes to be approached by a careless, slovenly salesman with the question:
lIWhat do yon want?"
A
man who does not possess the instincts and the training of a
gentleman is hardly fit for serVIce in a barnyard or among
the pig styes.
*'~
"Salesmatlship is a profession in itself," remarked a veteran
merchant.
I'The salesman who is able to ascertain why the
public buy, and who is able to inspire enthusiasm in the minds
of prospective purchasers, is sure of advancement and' steady
employment.
By taking a correct view of their' profession
and making good in its practice the op?ortunities for conscientious and industrious salesmen are unlimited:'
*1* *1*
If there is not a r-l:ch 1:' rger turn-out of buyers to the
exposition in Cl~inTn t"C't C· o:·th it will not be the fault of
President ~.Ieyns of the i\Lu'ufaeturers' Exhibition building.
Dud .......,.t~·(' r :'~t four I11cnth he has kept the mails well toad.cd \vitl1 letter;; ~:ddressed to dealers, setting forth substantial
Failing to receive prompt attention, when apparently there
is no cause for delay,' makes a customer "grouchY," and when
a merchant has more people in ,his stme than can be waited
on ii is his misfortune.
Salesmen cannot inspire enthusiasm
in customers when flying from one to the other.
Men are
especially keen in their remembrance of how they are treated
by the storekeepers and their employees.
*\*
*\* *\* *1*
Want of tact is almost a common fault in salesmen. ",'hen
this is combined with carelessness the explanation is furnished why many individuals employed by merchants earn
so little.
The best training schools for salesmen find the
correction of these faults very ditlicult to accomplish.
Slovenly persons arc disposed to remain slovenly all their days.
*1* '*1* *1* *1*
Visitors to the mid-summer expositions in
and Chicago will be pleased to learn that the
thirty minutes ride from Grand Rapids al1d five
from Chicago, will be open for the reception
July 1.
In the past this resort has entertained
of fllfIliture men.
Grand Rapids
Hotel Ottawa
hours by boat
of guests on
large numbers
*j* *1* *1* *1*
Many samples were received in Grand Rapids during the
first week of June and the w~rk of putting the floors in order
has gone steadily forward since.
The placing of the lines
on the floors is not easily accomplished.
Often weeks are
required to properly display a single line.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
Fears are expressed that on account of the indictment of
two hundred furniture men on the Pacific Coast the attendance of buyers from that section will be smalL
Many will
have pressing engagements with their lawyers during the midsummer season.
*\* *1* *1* *1*
During the months of July and August large red spots will
appear on the maps of the United States.
These will indicate the locations of Grand Rapids, Chicago and New York,
the great furniture centers of the world.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
The successful merchants of the future will be the men;
who have had experiel1ce on the f1!)ors of mercantile houses
with Cllstomers.
The office offers no such opportunities as
the floors or the road to acquire power in salesmanship.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
There
of toona
employed
it seems
is a steadily increasing demand for f~rnit\\re made
mahogany.
Many supposed that the light finish
on this wood would not remain long in favor, but
to have gained a lasting position in the trade.
*1* *1* *1* *1*
It seems to be a well established principle that a manufacturer has the right to open his exhibit whenever he pleases,
and to close it at any time, without asking the cons.ent of the
sheriff.
*1* 1111**1* *1*
Incivility and lack of attention on the part of satesmen
caUses the loss of more trade through the resentment of
customers than the delivery of inferior goods or the payment of excessive charges .
_._--------------------
"INCOMPARABLE
CENTURY
PARLOR.
LINE"
LIBRARY
AND
LIVING-ROOM
FURNITURE
IN MAHOGANY.
WALNUT.
AND GOLD
LEAF.
ALSO MAHOGANY DININGROOM CHAIRS
AND CHAMBER
CHAIRS
AND
ROCKERS.
REPRODUCTIONS
ENGLISH
AND
FROM
THE
THE
FRENCH.
OLD
COLONIAL.
REPRESENTATIVES:
L, D,
BERRY
W.
T. WELCH
CENTURY
SALES-ROOM
A.
T.
KI NGSBURY
ROST,
E. BAXTER
FURNITURE
153-159 CANAL
ST ..
GRAND
RAPIDS,
MICH.
CO.
38
ItOOKWOOD
and a general line of
fl\NGY TI\BlfS
Detroit, June 24.-A. VV. Bosley has purchased n:e stock
of furniture and good will of tl:e estate cf the late W. E.
BarkeT at 211-14-16 Michigan avcm,e, and will contil1ue the
business at that location in addition to his present store at
14-16 Gr::.ttiot avenue.
lvIr. Bosley has been a successful iUT
nituTe merchant in Detroit for nventy years or more and is
a man who has done and is doing his full share to advance
the city's prosperity.
Victor V. Cel1lebroek, who has been
with the IVlichigan avel'l".C store sillce it started, rC11la:l;S with
Mrs. Bosley in charge of the alTice.
~dT. Ceulebrce~k has
been in the furniture business as a manufacturer,
salesrr.an
and with Mr. Barker in the store almost sil1ce boyhocd, and
his many friends ·will be glad to know he is still in ·the business.
Idr. Bosley has the best wishes of the rVlichigal1 Artisan for success in his l~ew vcr.ture, and he will surely win
it as he 'deserves to do.
The Possclius Bros. Furniture
Manufacturing
Company
·will show an entire t'.ew line of dining extension tables at their
permanent show rooms, 1319 :'lichigan avenue, Chicago, in
charge of l\Jessrs. Kueey, Kemp and Armstrong.
This is
one of the largest lines of extension tables in the market
and in addition to thc famous Victor, their line en:braces
Murphy Chair Co.
MANUFACTURERS
A COMPLE.TE
DETROIT, MICH.
LINE.
Pioneer
Mfg. Co .. ,
DETIlOIl, MIen.
Rood furniture
Babu GarriaOllll
Go-Garts
Fall line l'hown lJon
second floor, 1319
Michll!an Ave., Chi.
calilo, in 'anuary.
Write for Cuts and Pricea
........
PALMER
Manufacturing Co.
115 to 135 Palmer Ave.
DETROIT. MICH.
Full line -.hown on teeond
£100", 1319 Miehigan Ave.,
ChiealrO. in January.
many pattcrns in round and square tops, in mahogany, quarter sawed golden and mission oak.
It is so large and varied
that i,t cannot fail to be one of the slrongest lines in the buildiug.
The Safety Folding Bed Company will show their full line
of metal safety lockless folding beds on thel1rst floor of 1411
Michigan avenue, Chicago.
.\lessrs. Fitzpatrick, Ryan and
Radtke wilt have charge of the line ;and it will be a winner.
The Palmer IVTanufacturing Corhpany will have a beaut:ful line of library anl parlor tables, pedestals and tabourettes
on display at 1319· Michigan avenue, Chicago.
The Pioneer
Manufacturing Company show their fine line of reed and rattan rockers, children's ..:arriages and go-carts in with the Palmer Manufacturing Company.
The Detroit (;:thinet Company'" fine line of fancy furniture wil1 be shown as usual in the big Furniture Exhibition
building, Grand Rapids.
George}.
Reindel's new six story building is rapidly approaching completion, and when finished he will have one of
the finest furniture stores in the west,
Don't Be a Whiner.
Lucky is the man in business who doesn't feel occasionally
like giving up the fight.
There are times when everything
seems to go wrong and nothing comes your way.
When in
such a condition the following, written by a buyer for the
An:erican Tobacco Journal may serve you as a bracer:
"Don't, gentlemen, play the part of the under dog. Don't
let the public think that your business is being injured by
the trusts or by any other combination of men or circumstances.
Put \-lp a bold front, look the world in the face and
whistle, whether you win or lose.
You can't win anything
with a whine.
Thc man with troubles r::ever lacks an audicnce, but his auditors seldom leave him with more respect
for him as a man than they had before they knew he had any
troubles.
"Humanity is a peculiar proposition, anyhow.
Give them
somcthing to look at; put up a show of sightliness; keep things
ncat, attractive and cheerful and you will get the business regardless of other things.
To hold a business you have got
to have, something else of merit, but to hold trade you must
have some trade to hold in the first place.
It isn't necessary
to brag, but it is viblly necessary to keep the public thinking
you are ;1l1 'is-cr' and not a 'was-cr.'
If once yOll let the
people thick yOU have gone 1111derthey will fall on you like
Sibcrian wolves alid eat yoU Up.
Every time and all the
tirrc people follow th~ successful man; they trade with him
and try to tn8ke friends with him."
The buyers bought light in January <l11d from "hand-tomouth" since.
Upon these facts the prediction of a lively
mid-summer season is based.
•
39
i
To Make Sdre of It, When in Chicago,
Go to 1411 MICHIGAN AVENUE
F1RST FLOOR
NEAR THE ELEVATOR
AND SEE THE
Safety
Lockless
Metal
Folding
Beds
·---------1-1 -MADE BY THE
Safety
Folding Bed
) ,If{";
4
\I'
~\. C0., Lt.d
il~,
I
DETROIT,
MICHIGAN
1\\
----
I
FITZPATRICK,M. E. RYAN .,dA P. RADTKe
J. d~"fTHrs'
'-------------1
I
I
I
Np-KUM-LOOSE
FASTENER
is the only device th t makes it absolutely impossible for the Knob, Pull
or Toilet Screw to grt loose or come off. As they cost the manufacturer
absolutely nothing af. all, no manafacturer c~n afford to trim his furniture
without using these rasteners.
only hy the
Manufactured
I
GRAND RAPID~ BRASS CJ.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICmGAN
I
under the Tower PatentS
TUE BOCKSTEGE fURNITURE CO.
EVANSVILLE
IND.
Globe
Sideboards
Are me BeSI on
me G10De lor
me MOney
GET OUR
CATALOGUE
MeQlion-the MICHIGAN AR!ISAN
when wnlmg.
S
~d~i~Mant:Ra~:'
~p:~:~ERS
ARE
BREAD
AND
TheNo "ELI"
fOL~!~~,
Stock complete wlthou
ELI
O . MILLER
&,
Evan.ville. Indi~Da
CO.Writeforcutsandpnces
Globe
Furniture
Company
EVANSVILLE.
IND.
Kitchen
Cabinets ,
Cupboards
and
K. D.
. Wardrobes.
That Plell8e.
Send for our
1907 C.ta1ague
Now Ready.
The Bosse
Fumiture CO
EVANSVIll.E. IND.-
. nar~es
War~ro~es
are Good Wardrobes
GOOD
Style
Construction
Finish
PRICES RIGHI
Write for Catalogue
Karges Furniture
Company,
EVANSVILLE,
IND.
42
=====
OUR ENTIRE NEW LINE OF THE
=====
FAMOUS VICTOR 1==--=1
~~·I
OUR GREAT SPECIALTY
and a full line of EXTENSION TABLES are now on Exhibition .at
1319 Michigan Ave., (2d Floor) Chicago
IN CHARGE OF F. A. KUNEY,
--
--_
.. -
---
J
O. KEMP, H.
J
ARMSTRONG
---
-----
---'----
I
POSSELIUS BROS. FURNITURE MFG. CO.
DETROIT. MICH.
43
Luce-Redmond Chair Co.
Big Rapids. Michigan
Om Largest and Finest Line of
Bedroom, Slipper Chairs and Rockers
Parlor Suites, Office and Dining Chairs
In Mahogany, Oali:, Maple and Chxassian Walnllt
Furniture Exhibition Building, 2d floor, South Half to the front Sections 15 and 16, Grand Rapids.
In charge of ], C. HAMILTON and EDGAR FOSTER, assisted bytbe followiug Representatives:
L. G. WALDRON,
J0r.:; T. HEALD, A. D. HUDGINS,
:A. R. SANKS lUld
C. R. DAVIS oj the Wisconsin Furniture Co.
-
-
-
--
---------
---
---
44
Grand Rapids Furniture Co.
SUCCESSORS
NEW ENGLAND
FURNITURE
CO.
Dining Room Furniture in
Complete Suites
MEDIUM PRICES
Side Boards,
China Cabinets,
Serving Tables,
Extension Tables,
Chairs
'1
Line strengthened and mad'(: more Complete by addition of New and Artistic Patterns.
Show Rooms at Factory
IOn Canal St.
On the First Floor at 1319 Michigan Ave., CHICAGO
~TH.ROPCO.
:f
9Display complete Lines of samples from the
following factories:
Elk Furniture
Dl'XI'e"
Crowell
Co~ } ~~\is~i:RS.
"
CHIFFO~IERS.
Furniture
SIDEBOARDS
Co.
§~rttAL
Thomasville Furn, Co. ~~'t1KF~~~i~
Standard Chair Co. g~Wci'¥2,O,J'
Gd
Queen Chair Co. ~~~AT
Pro bs t - B'Iggs F urn. C o. SIDEBOARDS
Gd BUFFETS
Choate-Hollister
Furn.. CO.l:I1AA~GGRADE
TABLES
POLISHED
DRESSERS
.,.;
O o Id en F urn. C o. CHIFFONIERS.
All Woo"
Se IIers & S ons C o. KITCHEN
CABINETS
..
F urn. C o. MISSiON
M ISSlOn
ARTS .,.;
CRAFTS
PORCH
Capi·ta IF urn. Mf g. C o. OAK
FURNITURE
Gd
GET OUR PRICES AND DISCOUNTS,
MANUFACTURERS'
EXHIBITION
BUILDING,
1319
'READY JULY 1st.
MICHIGAN
AVE" CHICAGO
~MlfrIG7}-N
Fight the Two-Cent Fare Laws.
Eighteen railroad companies in Missouri are fighting the
two-cent fare law which is to take effect in that state on
July 1. They have secured an injunction, from Judge Smith
McPherson of Kansas City, restaining the state officials
from taking steps to enforce the law until the courts have
passed upon a previous petitioll asking that the law be de-
45
rates and will raise the mll1l1TIUm caT load weight on more
than 90 per cent of the articles named in the western freight
classification, abolish several special commodity tariffs and
restore the articles to classification. Such action would advance the minimum car load of iron articles, 6,000 pounds,
agricultural implements 4;000, grain products 5,000 and all
other carload commodities from 3,000 to 6,000 pounds, and,
DINING
ROOM,
MANCHESTER,
ENGLAND
elared invalid all. constitutional grounds. About twenty roads
have taken similar action in Illinois and a smaller number in
Minnesota, Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
It is expected
the decision in the Missouri case will be accepted in the
other states, but as that case may be appealed to the United
States Supreme Court the operation of the laws may be suspended for a year or more. The y;.'iscansin senate, by a
with the abolition of commodity tariffs on low grade shipments, .....
vould have the effect of making a general advance ill
freight rates of about six per cent.
.
The Sextro Line.
The Sextro Manufacturing Company will have their new
line for the July season on display on -the sixth floor of the
BEDROOM.
MANCHESTER,
ENGLAND
votJ of 6 to 20, killed the twO-cent fare bill 'which had passed
the 'lower house of the legislature.
It is announced that in case the courts uphold the two-cent
fare laws, the railroads wilt withdrawnj all special rates of
less than two cents a mile, except comntutation rates. They
will also withdraw all "less than car load" commodit}" freight
Manufacturers' Exhibition building. 1319 Michigan avenue,
.Chicago.
Manager Sextro states that his company have had
an l1l1USllal1ylarge volume of business during the past year
and that :it the present time they are still behind On filling
their ordets. The Sextro table line is one of the strongest
to be found on the markets.
46
COLONIAL
DESIGNS
Appeal to the best trade. Many
new Colonial pieces, with our
complete line of Mahogany, Birdseye Maple and Q!artered Oak
BEDROOM
FURNITURE
will be shown on the Fifth Floor
Manulacturers' Exhibition Building
CHICAGO,
ILLINOIS .....
The Spencer & Barnes Company
BENTON HARBOR, MICH.
We Sell to Dealers Only.
New Catalogs Free.
Some of our Salesmen who will "show you" F. T. Plimpton: & Company,
M. A. Harmon, S, Mercer and E. B Benbow.
NEW· LINE
on DISPLAY
Manlacturers' Big Exhibition Building
CHICAGO.
ILLINOIS
WRITE
FOR
CATALOGUE
THE SEXTRO MFG.
CINCINNATI,
OHIO
co.
47
Moon Desk Co.
MUSKEGON,
MICH.
HOFFICE DESKS
New Styles for Fall Season
q
Line on sale Seventh Flocr, Manufacturers'
Building, Grand Rapids, Mich.
OUR OAK AND MAHOGANY
Dining
Extension
Tables
Are Be:fi Made, Bdl: Finished Values. All
Made hom Thoroughly Seasoned Stock.
No. 3&4~Dining Table
Top. 48x:48.
Made in Q!:!arteted Oak.
Full Polished,
NQ. 384.
Nickel Calfters.
Same style as above with square top.
LENTZ TABLE CO.
No. 384% Dining Table.
NASHVILLE. MICH.
WHITE. PRINTING CO.
I
I GRAND RAPIDS,
MICH.
HIGH GRADE CATALOGS COMPLETE
48
Free Excursions
Like Trading
Stamps.
During the past two years many towns in Minnesota and
some in other western states inaugurated bargain weeks- and
buying excursions, during the progress of which they offered
has not been crowded, nor has the volume of business shown
any decided increase.
"The single item of fares should have exhausted legitimate
profit on the required minimum of merchandisepu.rchased,
but in addition there were heavy expenses for thegerierotis
newspaper advertising, the strolling band, the maintenance
of the bureau of registration, and last, but by no means the
least, the promoters'
share.
And the grand aggregate
formed such a handicap that the scheme has been voted
many things but a success."
New Record
£0['
the West Michigan.
The business of the ",Vest !vIichigan Furniture Company,
Holland, .~dich.,for the spring of 1907, has been the heaviest
in the history of the company.
The line, covering golden
elm, maple mahogany, golden ash, golden oak, imitation figured mahogany, imitation figured quartered oak, genuine mahogany and qnartered oak veneered goods in chamber suites,
chiffoniers and dressers, is the largest they have ever produced.
They have also' had a very extensive trade in their
imitation quartered oak sideboards as well as in the genui11e
quartered oak goods.
The managers announce that they will make very few
changes for the fall, the line 'being so popular with the trade
that they do not deem it necessary to make changes.
Every
month their business this season has shown an increase over
any and all preceding seasons.
Foreign
Made by Manistee Manufacturing
Manistee, Mich.
CO.,
railroad fare free to those who came in from other towns and
bought goods to a certain amount.
The proposition naturally has some attractive features
and at first showed signs of being a profitable investment
for the promoters.
Like the trading stamp scheme, however, it was not long before the idea was overworked.
Other
towns' began to employ the same means to attract trade and
eventually the large city of Minneapolis decided to take a
hand in the matter and recently held its tlrst "Free Fare Trade
\Veek."
The jobbers and manufaetttrers of the latter city have
evidently decided that they do not care to continue such methods of enticing the people to come from out of tOW11to buy
in that market. They apparently believe, as the business men
of every good market town should believe, that they have desirable lines to after and that no inducements should be necessary in order to attract business to that center.
1£ each
city were to inaugurate a plan of this kind, no oue would be
deriving 'any henetlt from the plan but illstead the merchants
would be distributing to their customers in the \-yay of railroad fare a large amount of money, which eventually mnst
be made up in some other way.
As- mentioned ahove, it
would practically become a duplicate of the trading stamp
scheme.
In summing up the experience gained after its first
trial in Minne'apolis, the North \Vest Trade of that city discourages the holding of future similar excursions and says:
"No city can hope for commercial honors as a manufacturing and distributing point where its manufacturers and
wholesalers are called upon to combat such commercial heresies and methods as exemplified in this scheme, as it inspires,
and justly, a feeling of resentment on the part of the merchants whose trade is thus raided. 'Free Fare Trade Week'
was not a success. The expenses attending its operation
were almost prohibitive, the more so as it was not inspired
nor put into effect by Minneapolis retailers themselves, but
by a couple of 'promoters' or schemers from the outside
loaded, with' fair predictions and bright promises.
The city
Trade not Desired.
One of the consular rcpresenfatives of the United States,
in a long letter to the secretary of ,state at Washington ,gives
many reasons why there is no market to speak of in England
for furniture manufactured in the United States. It is a well
known fact that the trade of great Britain is not sought nor
desired by the manufacturers of furniture on this side of the
Made by Grand Rapids Chair Co., Grand Rapids. Mich
Atlantic. So long as the domestic markef takes the goods
produced, why bother with the trade of the tedious, fussy
Englishmen?
\\Then the domestic market shall not beab!·
to handle the output of furniture made at home, the American
manufacturers wilt engage in the business of supplying the
English market with such goods as tbat country needs.
The factory cafes, for which Grand Rapids is famous, were
fully stocked up and ready for the enterta.inment of visiting
buyers on June 17.
49
UNLAWFUL COMBINE ADMITTED
SOME OF THOSE
INDICTED
FURNITURE
PLEAD GUILTY AND PAY SMALL FINES.
MEN
They Adapt Resolutions Withdrawing All Obligations and
Agreements With the Northwest Furniture Exchange.
Sillce the artjcle appearing Oil nnother page relative to the
indictment of furniture men in the far northwe5t was printed,
it is announced from PortlaTHl that sixteen manufacturers
and
wholesalers ;llld fOUf rct<lil dealers pJc;::dc{1 guilty on Tuesday
June 11, and paid fines of $25 carll,
Previous to entering
the plea of g'uilt)' the respondent:, held a Ineeting and adopted
the following resolution \vhich 1vas presented to the COllrt:
"Resolved.
That the KOTthwcst
Furniture Exchange be
dissolved; that the relationship of different members of the
organization be terminated, jbe agreel1~cl1ts aed ohligatiolls
F. \V. V,\reeks of lVIedford; \V. H. Phelan, F. A. Jones, W. M.
Taylor, L Rllvcnsky 2nd Herman JI,-Ietzger of Portland.
At the meeting mentioncd above the object~ and motives
of the N orthwcst Furniture Exchange were discussed and explained.
It was declared that t.he primary purpose was protection of credits, from which it drifted to the rcgulation of
prices, which finally kd to action tending to restrain the trade
of dealers who were not members of the organization.
Since June 12 others than those named above have come
into court and pleaded g11iIty or asked further time in which
to plead.
S0111eof those at distant points have made their
requests by mail or by wire and it is thought it will not be
necessary to issue a warrant ill any case.
As shown by the fines imposed, the court seems disposed to leniency with those who plead guilty with a disposi~
tion to \'v·ithdraw horn the associations, but heavier fines may
be expected for those who stand trial-if
convicted.
The
maximum penalty for the offense charged in the indictments
is a fine of $5,000 and imprist)nment for two years.
Sale of Christmas
FURNITURE
POLISH
We offer a polish guaranteed to produce a BRILLIANT
and PERMANENT lustre on any finished wood. A dealer's
trade butlder. Send for sample )( gross) $3.75.
Our Superior
Repair Finish never fails to remove
burlap marks and mars; and, used with crystal shellac and a
set of our colors, [alli/ioe, to match any finish] will repair
deep scratches and jams, and reproduce the original finish,
at once. A boon to factory or store.
Repair outfit complete, with colors, one
quart finish, and inslructions for use,
$3.25
Send for Samples.
Grand Rapids Furniture
Polish Co.
24 Milton Ave .• Grand Rapids. Mich.
A.uti£Jma.ttc: Phone
8226.
of the respective members thereof be annulled, and the i!ldividual corporations, firms and persons forming the association pursue their respective husiness ",,'ithollt regard in any
way to the exch811ge, and ,vithout any combil18tion of prices,
or in any resp<:ct, in restraint of trade."
The names of those vdw entered pleas of guilty on June
11 are as follows:
\Vashington Parlor rurniture Company of Tacoma; Carman Manufacturing
Company. George E. K. Fitchner, Robert E. Bri.<;tow, Portland 1\lattress & Upholstery Company,
Oregon Casket Compal\Y, Ot·cgon Fllrniturc}'1anufacturing
Company, Henry DOl1.<;ing, Theodore Donsi"g, Peters & Rob_
erts, Doernbecher )'lanufacturing Company of Portland; F. S.
H8r111oll & Co., of Tacom,t; D. 1\, & E. \Valter & Co. of San
Francisco; Seattle }.-Iattress & UpllOlstery Company of Seattle; A. 1\Jcr1e & Co., T-Teyv"()(HlBrothers & \Vakefie1d of
Portland; F. H. ]. Lestoe, I-I. Goldstein, Ricket Company and
L. Rubenstein.
On vVednesday, June 12, twenty more of the respondents
pleaded guilty of being in the combine. Three members of the
Nortbwest Furniture Exchang-e, and seventeen sm811erconcerns were reprcsentcd.
Fifty-seven finns asked for an extension of time in which to plead, and were given until July
lD.
J'\'105toi these were out-of-town nrms.
The follo\ving small dealers were fined but $10 each. Kick
v\.Teis,Baker City; F. A. ;'\utbrown, F. S. N"utbro·wtl, 1. Dautoff, S. Hockf-ieJd, A. Hirt, B. },blo\vitz, H. A. Ker11S, E. C.
Yatlet. IT. Hausen and the Havvthotne Furniture Company of
Portland.
Thos'e fined $25 were as follows:
Chehalis Manufactudng
Campa11Y of Chehalis, \Nash.; Frank \V. Hollis, 1Tark Baker,
Goods in March.
In his remarks in regard to the conditions of the fumiture
trade on the Pacific Coast, pUblished in another column,
Arthur F. Switz states that a large quantity of house furnishing goods and toys ordered by dealers in Seattle and other
towns for delivery· in "Kovember last, in time for holiday
tr8de, \"ere not received unt.il late in February, and that the
dealers inaugurated
special sales of Christmas goods on
1,farch 1. which were not very sllccessful.
The toys at1d
many other articles \vill be carried over until next faU and
considerable lms must result from deteriora.tion.
In these
days of pat.ern.alism, when it seems to be deemed proper for
business men and corporations,
when in distress, to call
upon the state and national governme11ts for assistance, is it
not strange that the trade opportunists
of the northwest
failed to induce the governOl"S of the states whose business
men Were disastrously affected by the slow movement of
freights, to call special sessions of the legislature for the purpose of passing laws to create "buying days for Christmas
goods" and providing a penalty to be inflicted upon every
Illan ....
vho should fail to pur~hase and distribute Christmas
gifts to the members of his family.
If it is legitimate to
employ the forces of government to promote tbe mnnufacturt:
of toys and house furnishing goods. why should not the same
forces ne hrought into action when necessary to provide markets for the products of the indllstries in the manner Stlggested?
The D. & B. Line
Steamers leave Detroit weekdays
at 5:00p.m., Sundaysat4:00 p.
ffi. (central time) andfrom Buffalo
daily at 5:30 p.m. (eastemtime) ~.E"-----~~
reaching their destinationthe next "-._t!f;.~ ~: ..
morning.
Direct connections with early t.rain&
Lowest rates and superior service to New York,
Boston,PhiJadelphia,AtlanticCity,alJpoints east.
--.:::c'----
Popular week end excursions to
Buffalo and Niagara FaIls, leave
Detroit every Saturday.
RAIL
TICKETS
AVAILABLE
ON STEAMERS
All cla9~e9 of tickers sold readin(:" via Mlcb{gan Central, Wabash and Grand
Trunk railways between Detroit and Buffalo in either direction wili be accepteq
for transportation on D. h B, Line S:eamers.
Send 2c. stam~ for illustrated
PampbletandGreatl...akeamap.
AddrC88: L. G. LEWIS, G. 1". A.
DETROIT & BUFFALO STEAMBOAT CO., Detroll, Mieh.
PHilIP
H. McMILLAN,
VICIE-PRES.
A. A. SCHANTZ.
GEl(. MGR.
50
Spread of· the Mai1~Order Method.
The outcry against mail order competition that comes
from the small retailer is bitter indeed, and- it is not w,ithout
reason.
Yet not all retailers join in this condemnation of
lOllg~distancc business. Among neighborhood retailers the disposition is to fight mail-order trading; but as soon as the retailer grows out of his neighhorlcood he turns to and develops
this class of patronage.
It is fundamental, and has come to
stay, and when the retailer goes with the current instead of
up-stream he finds it a means of widening his opportunities.
The telephone aed trolley are bringing in new conditions for
merchants, and, perhaps, will be more or less in the nature
of salvation to some of them within the next ten years.
The
small retailer, today, is ~ghting against a parcels post Oll the
assumption that it will divert most of his trade to the mailorder hOllses.
But ten years hence he may find ~ueh a service exactly the thing he needs to deliver packages ordere(l
by telephone and mail.
.l\-fail"-order trade has been built
up largely by intelligent pron~otive work.
The price factor
counts, beyond doubt.
En the .local merchant has always
the advantage of being the man on the sp:Jt.
He can save
time to his customers, ;ll~d that is a greater advantage, prob~
ably, than the average local merchant re:l1izcs today.-Ex.
Justice Knows No Color Line.
CORNER. OF A MORNING ROOM. LONDON. ENG.
a mail-order catalogue for the use of its customers going to
departments of their own.
Not only the farmers living in
sparsely-settled
western districts purchase supplies in this
manner, but the suburban dwellers abont large eitie's, and the
people living in small cities of the East, and, even residents
T\vo court decisiOlls recently reported from SouthCaroline furnish a lesson for dishonest installment dealers and
also indicate that Southern justice does not recognize the
color line. In one case a negro- woman sued the Eagle
Furniture Company (N. Lifchez, proprietor)
claiming dam~
ages for being overcharged to the extent of $3.35 on furniture
for which she had agreed to pay $39. She was awarded judgment for $6UO, the furniture having been seized and removed
hy the dealer, but the judge reduced the amount to $400 on
condition that it be paid 'within ten days.
The other case, which has been affirmed by the supreme
court, seems to put the seal of approval lIpon the action of
jurors "soaking" installment dealers fdr overcharging.
In
this case, also, the complainant was a colored woman who
sued the Drake Furniture Company of Columbia and got a
verdict of $100 for havillg her 50 cent tablecloth seized wrongfuny.
The costs fall the total expense of seizillg that tableclcth up to about $250,
In the Lifchez case the collector alleged $7.65 due, but
AN
ENGUSH
DINING
ROOM
of the largest cities.
In New York, for instance, the retail house that delivers within a few blocks in winter, issues
a mail-order catalogue for the use of its customers going to
the country or seaside in summer, and its trade becomes a
Lifechez himself claimed there was $10 due and procecde-d
against the goods.
The woman employed a lawyer, who tendered $7.65, which was refused. Recei.pts were introduced
to show that the bjll had, in reality, been reduced to $4.
5\
$100,000.00
GRAND
and CORRECT DESi~~;orld
RAPIDS
FURNITURE
PRODUCTIONS
are ~ouli!.ht
over by the discriminating
buyer of ARTISTIC
In CABINET CONSTRUCTION
and FINISH
they are the highest
possible
attainment.
The GUNN. SE~TrONAL BOOKCASES stand ont from all other m"l.kes, Dot only be~
cause of this high grade of construction and finish. but becauSe of the MANY EXCLUSIVE, PRACTICAL PATENTED FEATURES of the system.
Points
of superiority
Over the
older
makes are;
THE ROLLER
BEARING.
NON.
BINDING,
REMOVABLE DOORS' NO UNSIGHTLY IRON BANDS OR PROTRUDING SHELVES.
THE OVER LAPPING DOOR, making a perfectly DUST PROOF CASE UNIFORM
~~ONTj doin~ away with the step ladder effects found in other makes. Sections that
JOID so PERFECTLY,
the appearance is that of a SOLID PIECE OF FURNITURE.
Look
for the~e SPECIAL
fore purchasing.
SAMPLES
POINTS
OF DIFFERENT
OF MERIT,
FINISHES
TEhx'p'E·rRviTceSsof
OUR EXPERT
DESIGNER
are yours to COllllU3.nd.
SEND FOR FREE CATALOGUE TODAY.
Giving valuable hints on the furnishing.
of your home Library.
.'
found only in the "GUNN,"
SENT
be-
FREE.
and of our entire force of LIBRARY
This enormous
sum will be spent
during the fa II
months of 1907
by the manufacturers of Sectional
Bookcases wit h
the
prominent
magazInes.
It i s needless
for us to call the
attention of the
live dealer to our
advertising c a mpaign, which goes
steadily on for the
benefit ofGUNN
AGENTS.
<./
Sold through leading furniture
deaLers'
everywhere or direct from factory.
THE GUNN
FURNITURE
COMPANY
Grand Rapids•.
Michigan
Sole ManufadUt_
ers of Gunn D~"ks
and Filing Device.
We do not advertise spasmodically but continuously, and are
prepared to prove
to you that our
carefull y studied
campaigns
s e II
Gun n Sectional
Bookcases.
We look for an
unusually Ia r g e
volume of trade
t his fall which
will result from
the heavy ad vertising expenditure
in the Standard
Magazines,
and
suggest too
ur
The above is a reproduction of one of our full page. advertIsements to be
run in the fall months. No dealer can afford to overlook the Agency for the
presen tag e n t s,
three greatest selling lines on the market.
and those dealers
GUNN SECTIONAL BOOKCASES
who
contemplate
GUNN SECTIONAL FILING DEVICES
taking on our line
GUNN OFFICE DESKS
of
Sectional Book_
cases,
that stock orders be placed at the earliest possible date to insure safe and prompt delivery.
With the recognized high quality of uGunn" products there can be only one result. and that is. the leading advertised lines from
this time forward are to be the Gunn Sectional Bookcases, Filing Devices and Office Desks. Write/or hoth catalogutJ. Free/or the aiking.
GUNN FURNITURE COMPANY, Grand Rapids, Mich.
M.nn~:~~n~
·~MlffIIG?JN
THE LEXIN6TON
_
/lInl." 22d Sf
CHICAGO. ILL
Refurnished
and
fitted throughout.
Management.
furniture
The
dealers'
quarters.
reNew
bl!ad-
Most con-
veniently
situated
t b e furniture
to
display
houses.
Inler·Slale PROPklETOR
Holel CO.
OWNBa
&;
E. K.. Criley. Pres.;
T. M. Crlley,
V. Pres.;
L, H. Firey, Sec·Treas.
WALL PAPER
Present Methods of Manufacture,
HISTORY.
Conditions and Prices Com~
pared With Those of Forty
Years Ago.
S. S. Conner of Westfield, Mass., is said to have been in
the wall paper business longer than any other man in this
country.
It was forty years ago that Mr. Conner made his
first venture.
l\Iachinery such as is now used was then Ut1unknown, and all the wall papers were printed by hand. Now
a wall paper .11ial1ufacturer boasts that in two hours he can
convert a tree into pulp, manufacture it into wall paper and
have it on the wall.
But the use of the wood pulp without
other stock to strengthen the paper, makes it so brittle that
it is hard to hanule and has little. wearing quality.
Early wall papers were intended by the manufacturers to
last more than a year.
Mr. Conner has sold wall paper for
$4.50 and $5 a roll.
Of course, this was of the finest quality
and design, which requited considerable time in the process
of manufacture.
The most difficult and tedious parto{ the
work was putting on the designs.
The paper came in a big
roll drawn over some flat surface and the block on which
had been cut the design was dipped in .the color and it was
then pressed upon the paper.
This operation was repeated
with a number of blocks until all the colors required in the
design were put on. 1
The paper was moved along a short
distance and the process repeated.
So well was the. paper made that it would last a lifetime,
and the house\vife never dreamed of having it pulled off ev~
ery fall or spring to be replaced with new, as is the custom
nowadays, when paper can be· bought for 3 and 4 cents a roll.
In the old fashioned days the wall paper tame in rolls
twenty inches wide instead of eight,een inches as at present.
Borders were not made to match the designs in tllC wall
paper, so the customer selected the decoration he wanted for
his wall and then took the border that looked best with it.
Borders with gilt background were in general favor and
most of them were decorated with dark red flecking.
Flecking was produced by covering the gilt paper with a mucilaginous substance and then sifting through the desig-n velvet trimmings.
After the velvet had dried on, the trimmings
that did not adhere to the glue were brushed off.
Sometimes these borders were flat g.ilt papers, sometimes
the flecking was put on solid.
Solid flecking was used for
wall decoratioin up to fifteen years ago when the modern wall
papers began to come into the market.
English wall paper came in rolls of eighteen yards but after
the industry secured a foothold in this country the length of
a roll was reduced to sixteen yards and the cutting down has
been going on ever since, until nOw some rolls do not contain more than thirteen yards.
Early manufacturers paid high wages to color mixers and
block cutters, men who cut the designs in wood blocks, and
the result was the manufacture of fast colors.
It is said that
one firm in New York paid its color mixer $60,000 a year and
he had as an assistant his son, who drew $15,000 a year salary,
and they. only worked eight months in a year at that.
Designers and cutters received $8 a day.
Color mixers soon discovered that arsenic produced the
most beautiful green for printing wall papers and its use quickly became general.
It was not long before its poisonous effects were discovered, the paperhangers being the first to suffer from it.
Physicians have reported many cases of arsenical poisoning from wall paper and only a few months ago the newspapers printed a story about an Illinois farmer who lost three
wives in three years by death, the cause of which was found to
be the arsenic in the parlor wall paper.
According to the
story, tbe women were taken ill immediately after the spring
house cleaning, during which the waJl paper in the parlor had
been brushed.
An investigation of the house led to the
dise'overy of the cause of the women's deaths.
Gerieral knowledge of the dangerous properties of green
wall paper caused a falling off in the demand and dealers soon
stopped buying it, with the result t11at the manufacturers to a
large extent abandoned the use of arsenic, so that today there
is very little of this kind on the market.
Soon after the introduction of the printing- presses the
manufacturers
vied with onc another in producing artistic
wall papers, the principal object being to put the largest Hnmber of colors in a design.
One Philadclphia firm surpassed
an its competitors in this work and succeeded in producing
designs having eighteen different colors, but this fad died out
and now not more than eight colors are found in one design.
Borders are manufactured to match design in the wall
paper and the paper is trimmed and butted so that there is
very little waste.
When wall paper was made by hand, the
borders sold 'IS high as $3.50 a single roll or $7 a double roll,
but now the border and wall paper are sold for the 51-meprice,
Added Dining and Chamber C':1airs.
The Ottawa Furniture
added a line of dining and
patterns (;to their" choice
and dining rO~Jlll. Samples
and New York during the
company of Holland, Mich., have
cham ber chairs, in fre1:ihand novel
lires of furniture for the chamber
will be exhibited in Grand Rapids
mid-summer selling season
STAR CASTER
NORTH
UNION
STREET.
(PATENT
CUP CO.
GRAND
APPLJED
RAPIDS,
MICH.
JI' .... R)
We have adopted celluloid as a base for ollr Caster Cups, making the
best cup on the markel.
Celluloid is a g«'at improvement over bases
made of other material.
When it is necessary to move a pie-cesupported
by cups witb cellulnld bases it can be done with ease, as the bases are perfectly smooth. Celluloid dot's not sweat. and by tbe use of tht'se cup.'i
tables are never marred.
These cups are finif<hed in Golden Oak and
White Maple, finished !;l7{ht. If you u'iU try a 8ample order oj tlMtJe
goods ,//OU will del/ireto handlethem in quanUtieff.
PRICES:
f. o.b.
Size 2M"inches
Size 2U inches
Grand Rapid8.
$5.50 per hundred.
4.50 per hundred.
TRY A SAMPLE ORDER.
------------------------------------------
-
53
IN FORCE FROM MAY 15th to JULY 15th, 1907.
We have imported direCt from Japan 300,000 good quality folding Fam. specially prepared,for
the nextsixtydays. Dealers ordering BISSELL'S
"eyeo"
us, and will give these out to our customers during
BEARING SWEEPERS during the period our Fan Offer is in force will
receive the fans free, in accQrdance with the conditions of our Fan Offer.
The Fans will please your customers, thereby advertising you, and at the same time will help
the sale of our goods during the warm seaSOD.
PLEASE WRITE US FOR FULL PARTICULARS REGARDING THIS LIBERAL OFFER
$}
BISSELL CARPET SWEEPER CO., Grand Rapids, Mich.
(LARGEST
Branches:
New York; Toronto:
AND ONLY EXCLUSIVE MANUFACTURERS
OF CARPET SWEEPERS IN THE WORLD)
London; Paris,
Woodard Furniture Co.
OWOSSO, MICH
MANUl'ACTUREI<S
0'
HIGH GRADE, MEDIUM PRICED
BEDROOM
FURNITURE
IN ALL THE
FANCY WOODS and FINISHES
Our beautiful new fall line of 400 pieces will be
especially strong in Circassian Walnut and Colonial
designs. Shown in Grand Rapids in our usual space,
3rd floor Klingman Building. New catalo,R ready for
mailing July Ist.
WOODARD FURNITURE CO.
....
7'lR
. T 115'A.l\I
54
Tee
Show of Appreciation
is Good Business Policy.
Men need a word of cnc.-,ouragement now ar.d then just as
n:uch as they need food.
For as food is to the bcdy, so is
encouragement to the n~jlld and heart.
A worker who is
discouraged is not half. a man.
And even the mo~t liberal
compensation
call 110t take the place of a word of appreciation
and encouragement given in the right siprit in the rigH time.
"That is a wMd job, Henry," said a business man
to his clerk, who had jL:st finished ruling a bock for him,
and the young man threw himself into his work with rer:ewed
energy and interest.
The man never knew how much that
slight word of approval meant to the clerk, nor how much
it added to his enthusiasm,
Men and women crave assurance that their work is meeting with satisfaction.
To withhold that assurance when it i.3
due is not ITlcrcly poor b1..1Sinesspolicy, but it is also an injustice.
Part of the compensation of every worker is the
satisfaction of knowing that he is accomplishing .something,
and to withhold that satisfaction is often more -grievous than
to hold back money duly earned.
More .and more must tllOsc in authority in business
recognize the human elen~ent in men ar.d women-the
part the heart plays in the world.
It is possible, of course,
to say too n1\1ch to a man, gj·..,inghim an over-elated sense of
his value, bllt the tendcl1(:y seems rather in the other direction; men do not get cllccuragen;,ent enough-V\raldo
P.
\Varren.
Muskegon Valley Furniture Co.
MuskOl!OD.
Mich •.
Odd
Dressers
Chafoniers
Wardrobes
Ladies'
Toilets
Dressing
Tables'
Mahogany
Inlaid
Goods
Ladies'
Desks
Music
Cabinets
Line on sale in
Manufacturers' ExhibftiQU
Building,
GRANIJ
RAPIDS.
"An Unburnable City,"
A New York fire insurance man is reported as declaring
"Some day 'we shall have an unburnable city!"
The declaration was made after inspecting the Caledonian building on
Pine street, in the vVall street district, which is considered
morc nearly fireproof than any other large bt1i~ding ill the
city.
It is twelve stories high and has a cast iron frame
protected by porous terra cotta and brick.
Tts insurance rate
is 5 cents per $100, while the rate 011 the New York Exchange
building, ten stories high, with its metal frame only partially
protected, is 10 ents per $ICO.
From this it appears thzt
the way to obtain low insurance rates is. to construct fireproof
buildings.
Fans From the Flowery Kingdom.
The Bissell Carper Sweeper Company of Grand Rapids
have imported 300,OCO fans direct from Japan, which will be
distributed to dealers handling the Bissell sweepers free be-
The Sargent Mfg. Co.
MUSKEGON, MICH.
Bachelors' Cabinets
Ladies' Desks
Extra Large Chiffoniers
-----
__
AISO Manufactulell
ROLLING
aDd ~
of
_
CHAIRS
Chairs adapted to all kinds of invalidism, both. for
house and street use.
Made by the Spencer
OVER FORTY DESIGNS TO SELECT FROM
Line on Sale in KUNGMAN
BUILDING.
GRAND
RAPIDS.
&
Barnes, Co., Benton Harbor, Mich
tween .the present and July 15.
The fans will 'please customers and will help the dealer in making sales of Bissell
sweepers.
The company 'will give the particulars of their
"fan offer" to dealers requesting the same.
OUR NEW 1907 LINE OF ALASKA REFRIGERATORS
with side ice chamber is made in twenty-one styles,
zinc lined, white enamel and porcelain lined. Our
cataloguewill interestyou. Write for it.
THE ALASKA REFRIGERATOR CO.
Exclusive Refrigerator Manufacturers.
MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN.
A Dirge for the Price Cutter.
never pays
piciol1 from the
and one that is
erang, it strikes
to cut prices. The cutter is an object of Sl1_~time he hegins the trick.
It is bad practice,
dcmoratizillg to trade.
And, like the boomback at the one who thnnvs it.
If found to be a victim his credits are tightened,
plies limited.
and his sup-
The business associatcs smile. when the price cutter's name
is mentioned.
Poor fellow, the sheriff or the idiot annihilator \vill 50011 pick his mercantile bOlles.
He loses his
The retailer-for
he is the one \\'ho cllts-only
cheapens
stall ding among those \vho 01lC~ welcomed him as a business
the price of hi:; goods to attract customers.
He is hungry
competitor and the dogs shun him as one likely to snatch thc
for trade, and of tell unwisely thinks that he had rather sell
hone they have clain-.ed as legitimate prey.
Only the vultJJrce pieces at a pr(Jllt of $2 each than Ol:C at a gain of $5.
tures will give him even half-hearted
welcon:e, as in his
greed he has become one of them.
And tlle 11ludJ sought custorner,,-they,
too, doubt the
honesty of pllTIH}se of the price cutter.
They look at his
offers \Nitb sllspicjoJ) born of experience.
They know that
staple goods have a fixed price.
They are "hep" to the methods of price slashers, and want nOlle of it.
A el1..,tOl11erwho
is offered a cut expects fake goods.
If he is offered a standard article he at Ollce believes there is something w;'Ong w'ith
it somewhcrc- ·last year's make painted over, or a flaw puttied
up, or possessing son:c defect-and
!line times Ol1t of ten he
looks at the t111dersdler and his wares with it feeling that
tbere is a job ill it somewhere. goes over to t11e other man
and pays the ruling price for the thing he needs.
Time 1-Vas""hen cUstOIUers went bargain hunting.
They
looked about lor the cllC;lpest goods they could buy, were
swindled. and h<J.\'elearnnl better.
Now, when a man starts
price cutting J e is looked UpOn as a 5~vjl1dlc-r. They know
that furniture, farm machinery anI ill1plen~ents are as staple
as wheat or oats or corn.
They kll0W, too, th.at the manufacturer does not countenance slashing of prices.
They further
know that no one dealer can buy from the maker cheaper
than another.
The consumer ,""ho buys from a price cutter expects to
be fooled.
He didn't once, but he does now,
So if he
wants a first class article hE:is willing to pay the ruling price.
So the price Cl1tter dm:s not do the busil~ess he expected when
he sbrted On the road to ruin and if his creditors do not close
him up before h{~gets over his demoralization,
he goes back
to Jiving prof-its, and sells at the same figure his compatriots
do, arid SCCllTes tr.nde by legitimate advertising and personal
pcrsuasion.
Ma.tle by The Spencer & Barnes Co., Benton Harbpr, Mich.
In theory this looks good.
But it is Door business.
To sell
three pieces he mLlst have thrice the capital or credit that he
,"vollld J,ave to scJl Olle,
The less proflt
per dollar he tUrllS
....
·'It on this clpital, the poorer financier he is.
The price cutter is looked upon w.ith lvonder by business
men.
Tf he is llOt demanding
<t fair profit
ttpon his wares
a manufacturer
Or johbcr will soon be made vy'jse ;ll1d 1vary
and his business sanity at Oncc undergoes an examination to
determine if be is not sllffering from dementia damphoolicana,
It doesn't pay, and the cutter knows-or
should know-it
before he blkes 011 the dangerous pra~tjce.-Eli
Grocee
Will Have «Everything
Good."
Prominent business men of Columbia, S. c., [aye incorpmatcd the Gibson-Mille' Company, capitalized at $20,000,
with $19,000 subscribed and 25 per cent paid in, to open a first
class furniture store in that city.
A. M. 1\leetze is president,
Athol H. 3.Tillcr secretary and treasurer, and E, B. Gibson
general manager.
The company promises to ha die "everythjng good in fumiture m:d house furnishings."
·~MI9rIG7}N
56
The Window's Influence on Trade.
One of the greatest problems of today which the merchant
has to solve is how to influence trade, says C. T. Cullom of
Sedalia, Mo., in an article on "V\lindow Dressing" in the
American Artisan.
Naturally the 6rst thing to do is to use
the newspapers freely.
Let the public know who you are,
what
you are, and impress
upon
them
that
you are alive and
up-ta-date, and in position to give them good value for their
money.
And when you have advertised be sure that you
have the goods which are, in every particular, an you claim
nothing else to do, and all the actual expense was not to cxceed five cents.
I do not pretend to be an expert window dresser; in fact,
my experience is ve.ry limited; and I am encouraged to know
that I was able to win a second prize among so many contestants,
There isn't a store in the country but what has a man
who could with a little time, a few cents, and the good-will
of his proprietor, make a window which would attract a good
deal of attention, and draw trade enough to pay his time and
the few cents spent many times over.
The results obtained from success in window dressing
will fire the ambition of any man and lead to better arrangements and display throughout the store,
"Goo{ls well displayed are one-half sold."
Taking into consideration the
silent salesman, the V.llndow, as per salary you pay, is the
hest investment any merchant can make.
Significance of Colors in Oriental Rugs.
Kot only the designs but the colors of rugs woven in the
Orient are full of significance.
They represent national or
individual traditions, they stand for virtues and vices, social
importance or social ostracism.
They are the result, says the
Eclectic Church Magazine, of the political and religious histories of the countries in which they were made.
Tyrian purple is almost universally regarded as royal.
Red was regarded by the Egyptians as symholic of fidelity.
Green has been chosen by the Turk as his gala color, but he
would not approve its use in rugs, where it would be trDdden
by the feet.
Rose tints signify the highest wisdom, black and indigo
sorrow, with the Persians.
Preferences for duller tones of
color among the Persians give to all their embroideries and
other products of the loom a certain richness and dignity.
"'T. H. Obling,
Made by the Bosse Furniture
Co., Evansville, Ind.
for thew, so that your patrons will have confidence in yoU and
your goods.
If you can't get their confidence your effort:;
to get their trade will be in vain.
The first step toward gaining the confidence of the public
will be in the appearance of your store.
Let a customer
come into your store and find everything topsy-turvy' and -he
will at once lose confidence ill you as 'a storekeeper.
To my judgment the window is the index to the whole
store.
When yon Sf.'.f.' a nice window di!'>play,just step inside
and you will find, without single exception, a well arranged
store.
You will find each class of goods arranged to good
advantage and well displayed.
No jumbled up goods there.
Kinety-nine chances out of a hundred, when you see a store
with attractive window display, inside yOU will find ~nergetic,
industrious clerks and a prosperous -business.
In talking to merchants who do not pay attention to window displays, it is almost a universal opinion that it is too
much work and expense for the results ohtained.
Also, that
it takes a 'window dresser
of experience to make an attractive window.
This is a very common idea.
For instance,
the display for which the A~erical1 Artisan recently awarded
me the second prize in its contest, took me just two days'
work in arranging at intervals when I was not waiting on
trade.
I could easily have arranged it in half a day with
New Furniture
Dealers.
\Vichita, Kao.
Brunswick Furniture Co" Brunswick, Neb.
Painter & Ehrenberger, Schuyler, Neb.
Albert J. Fountain & Son, !l'1esilla, N. M.
L. Switzer, Kalispell, Mont.
M. Buller, Klamath Falls, Ore.
Sheehan Furniture Company, Couer d'Alene, Ida.
R. L. Loflin---,-----incorporated,
$20,(J(JO-Hlgh Point, N. C.
Newell & Co.-incorporated,
$lO,OOO-Newport News, Va,
Sheridan Furniture Company, Shcrldan, 'Nyo.
Capi.tal
f,tock, $50,000.
Kirkland & Overstreet, Pearson, Ga,
Furniture
Fires.
Arthur G. Pike, Chelsea, Mass.
Loss $5,000.
Enger & Olson, Duluth, Minn.
Loss $800.
Dou'glass Furniture Hospital, Chicago.
Loss $6,000.
Bradley & Thomas, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
P. Vl. 'Madsen, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Campbell & Skinner's mattress factory, Reno, Nev.
The Newton Company, San Angelo, Tex.
The Hoffman Company, Wilmington, DeL
W. S. Clark & Son, Seward, Pa.
Mohawk (N. Y.) Manufacturing Company.
Plant comWill
pletety destroyed.
Loss
$75,000;
insurance $44,GOO.
rebuild.
New
Factory
For Grand Rapids.
AHred B. Nachtegal, Julia .Nachtegal and George J. Vie\"heilig of Grand Rapids, Mich" Stephen P. Spitz of Washington, ·D. c., and James E. Reilly of Charlotte, N. c., have incorporated the Nachtegal Manufacturing
Company, capitalized at $100,000, with tenper cent paid in, to manufacture and
sell office, store, bank and other fixtures.
The factory will
be located in Grand'Rapids.
57
J. C. WIDMAN & CO. DETROIT,
14th, 15th, Kirby Ave" and G. T. Ry,
Man%cturen
tJf
MICHIGAN
---.
Mirrors, Hall Furniture, China Closets, Buffets,
Chevals
PERMANENT
NEW
YORK, 428 Lexington Ave.
Art in Selling "Spiffs."
Selling of "spiffs"
enue that often adds
imate means for the
by salesmcll
in stores is a source of revto the \veckly salary and forms a legitclerk to illcrease
his income
and at the
same time assist his employer.
"Spiff" is a term that is understood
well by salesmen
and
prohably is seldom heard outside the stores. Spiffs are the leftover:)-goods that have passed the novelty stage and are not
staple,
They arc as good as ever, but their salable quatit:es
have declined
until newer goods are IT. ore easily sold.
"VVhCll such goods
<1ppear ill a stock a premium
is placed
on their sale, and the man \vho gets them out of the store
receives
the premium
in addition
to his regular
pay.
They
are marked
low to move them, and the careful salesman
\-vho
watches
his chances can dispose of them often and thus profit.
Buying
spiffs is not a thing that harms the purchaser,
for
the price he pays is fair and the goods are all right except
that the dea1er \vould rather
have his money than the goods.
Often they are just what tbe purchaser
wants, and often are
preferred
to the newer goods that arc popular
at the time.
One instance
will illustrate
the 1n:tllal
benefit
that may
come from spiff selling.
In shoe stocks most sales are from
the 1redium
sizes, and unusually
small and unusually
large
sizes are like1y to remain
unsold
until the style may have
cbanged.
They become spiffs.
The man with a large foot or the woman with a small one
may purchase
these shoes at a low price when they are spiffs,
and the salesman
makes
his commission,
the dealer
getting
his money ant and ready to invest in new goods.
So it is all through
the line of merchandise
of whatever
kind.
A suit of clothes
in a clothing
store is left from a certain line and with 110 inducement
for its sale the salesmen
would work from full lines and neglect
the old suit.
As a spiff the clerk has it in mind, and when opportunity
presents
itself for its sale he gives the purchaser
a real bar-
EXCEPTIONAL
FACTORY OPPORTUNITY
Do you wish to find an openin~ for a CHAIR FACTORY or would
you like to remove to some more favorable location? If so, it would repay
yOIl to at once request information about a fine location in the great timber
section of Southeast Missouri along the
•
Liberal inducements are offered to secure a bona fide proposition employing not Jess than forty men. Good dj-<tributin~ faciHties for finished
product.
Correspondence is invited regarding this and other excellent
opportunities for furnitllre, mattress. iron bed and other factories alongour lines. Send for industrial descriptive matter about the Rock 18tand-
Fri8CQ,
M. SCHULTER. Industrial Commissioner. Roek Island· Frisco lines.
1144Frisco Bldg •• ST. LOUIS. MISSOURI.
SALESROOMS
..
CHICAGO,
£,3£9 Michigan Ave.
gain and collects his commission.
chaser feels he has been treated
It fills the bi.l1 and the purwell.
At holiday
time the salesman
in a busy store may 'move ~L
great deal of spiff stock in the rmh seas 011 and perhaps
double
his salary.
The goods are all right except that some factor
of the trade has placed
them in a position
whcre
they are
likely to be neglected
unless
an inducement
is held out to
the salesman
to make a special effort to dispose
of them.
The better
the salesrr.an
the closer watch he keeps of his
stock and the better judgly.ent
he i.1ses in dealing with his customers the more chance he has of fitting the spiffs to purchasers and adding
to his incorr.e.
It is one of the arts of the
trade, and salesmen
vie with one another
to excelt in this as
well as in moving the newer goods.-George
H. Manlove.
Failure Should
Not
be Fatal.
The word "failure"
has a daunting
sound,
but it means
less than might be expected
to those who have achieved
real
SUccess.
Such workers
know v,iell that failure only is serious
or discouraging
when marked
by lack of the cheery, confident
ability
to "take
heart
with the day and begin
again"
that
means new and augmented
progress.
Perpetual,
recurrent
failure looks bad for the individual,
but one or more distressing,
perhaps
seemingly
absolute
failures easily may be the result of
will and talents
turned
in the wrong
direction,
unsuitable
circurr.stances
or environment,
over-competition,
anyone
of a
variety
of inevitable
effects or causes.
Few of the world's
shilling successes
but can remember,
even if they will not acknowledge,
at least
one early
mistake
or blunder
serious
enough
to be called failures.
MallY a presently
successful
worker
actually
is proud of the untoward
preliminary
events
and adventures
that
led to his enviable
today's
situation.
These
facts equally
apply
to the worlds
of commerce,
professional
endeavor,
and art.-Exchange.
Morton House
American
......Plan
Rates $2.50 and Up
Hotel Pantlind
European
......Plan
Rates $1.00 a.nd Up
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
The Noon Dinner Served at the Pantlind
for 500 is the fiNEST IN THE WORLD
J. :BOYD P ANTLIND.
Prop.
58
Jamestown
Lounge
Company
to
Make
Leather
Turkish
Chairs.
Arthur H. ~Greelilund, vice-president of the ]amesto"Wll
Lt'~nge Company is particularly well 'pleased with the new
fall line of J1;5 concern,
now practically
COI1:1p1etcd. .Mr.
Greenlund's enthusiasm is unmistakable.
To use his own
words, "we have outdone ourselves tbis season :111(} we will
show a line at the market which will make lively times around
our space." AsM L Grccnlund has persolJal]y supervised the
designing and production of every new line hrought out by
the Jamestown Lounge Company since the business 'was established, and has also attended in person every exhibit made
by them during the fourteen years in which they have shown
their line at the markets, he should be pretty well qualified to
judge as to results. The Jamestown Lounge Company were
might have handled some more business, their shipments are,
as a matter of fact, slightly in excess of the spring season of
last year, establishing a new record.
The Udell Exhibit.
Indianapolis, June 22.-The "Udell Works will make a big
showing this July seasoll at Grand Rapids, where this com~
pally is now exhibiting exc1uisvely.
Manager Cobb states
that the July line ·wj1] be as strong as ever and that it will
be of special interest to the buyers of ladies' desks, music
cabincts, piano player roll cabinets, bookcases and library
tables. He says, however, the quality will 110t be sacrificed
on aCCOl1ntof .reasonable pric:es.
The Udell line this season
will show son~e beautiful patterns in Circassian walnut in the
department of one, two or three ladies' drawer desks .. The
INTERIOR OF A COTTAGE AT LETOHWORTH, ENGLAND.
am011g the lirst of the ot1t3ide manufacturers
to recognize
the advantag"c of showing their line at Grand RapiJs, and although occasioned exhibits have heen made in other markets,
Grand Rapids has long been recognized as their regular ex':
hibition market.
The Lounge Company will surprise their customers this
season by showing for the first tin~e a line of Turkish chairs
and rockers upholstered in "reliance" leather. It was decided
to add these goods owing to the insistent demand for them
by the trade, and although a new department, it will not by
any means be conducted in an experimental way. The company has engaged as manager for this branch of their business
one of the most expert men In this line of work who has for
many years been in charge of this department for one of the
larg~stconcerns
inaking leather furniture.
The initial line
will not be large as to number of patterns, but will be confined
to ."l range of tJle most popular gr.ades and wj}l be filled b as
occasion demands.
Although considerable complaint of Quiet business has
been heard throughout the season from both the retailer and
manufactmer, the Lounge company report that while they
Cdcll catalogue will he ready by the rlliddle of July and
\vill contain sixty or more jlages of ictcrcsting reading and
illustratetI matter.
The exhihit this season will be in charge
of the following gentlemen:
F. L Billings, who looks after
Chicago antI Milwaukee; Dan G. Williams, who travels in
Pennsylvania and Ohio, also coveril1g Detroit; W, H. Murphy, middle West; Geo. C. Dyer, the East, and Paul M. Roth
the Pacific coast.
ne\v
On the Kalamazoo.
Stuart Foote and Russell Taylor, of the Imperial Furnitune company spent two weeks recently in boating and fishing
on the beautiful Kalamazoo river. After a few day on the
river they becarr:c dissatisfied with the boats for hire On the
stream and proceeded to Muskegon where they purchased a
neat little naphtha launch and in eight hours made the ruri of
fifty miles from Muskegon to Saugatuck, on Lake Michigan,
The outing was greatly enjoyed by the young men, and they
returned to prepare for the opening of the season "reinvigorated and in jubilant spirits.
7'119-'T' I .s JI.AI
t
59
7,$9+
REX [;:;t:~]MATTRESS
CHAS. A. FISHER & CO.,
1319 Michigan Ave., Chicago.
WRITE FOR
BOOKLET
AND
PROPOSITION
WarehOUlIelil
ST. LOUIS, MO.
KANSAS CITY, MO.
PEORIA, ILL
LINCOLN, ILL
MINNEAPOLIS.
MINN.
CHICAGO, ILL.
EVANSVILLE
Eva nsvillc, Ind ..
which
erected
J tllle
22.- The }'1etal Furniture Con-p,,-cy,
a larg-e plant
and
cOlllmenced
the
manufacture
of brass <llHl iron beds in this city a year or two ago after a
rocky experience on account of illC0111petcnt
rmll~a:;'c111elltJ
has passed into ("<ljl:thlc hands, and the iutnfe of the industry
is no longer uncertain.
\Vith the business in the h:lllds of
B. B. Bosse, \'\1. A, Koch, the Karg-cs Brothers and their associates. SlIccess is assured.
The Evanville 'i\.Tetal Bcd CompallY ,,,,ill S0011 issue it catalogue illustrating
ar:d describing the Banner line of bras:;
ami iron beds.
The J ndiana Furniture
Company have given orders to
their cngraver for Ctlts to be used in printing their annual
catalogue.
Salesn,en representing
the Karges, Globe and Borkstege
Furniture companies will handle the line of the Evansville
Metal Furniture Con:;pany hereafter.
Louis Hahn and James A. Anderson, the "cry successful
designers of Gran! Rapids have been employcd for several
weeks in the prcparation of new p::ltterns for lo~,ll rnanufac ..
UtTers.
SalTples of ;111 leading lines made ill Evansville will be
fOUlld On sale in the Furniture Exposition building, S1. Loui.:
The Eli n. }Tiller Company will exhibit their excelle::t
line of m;llltel folding beds in Chicago.
Eli D. 1\filJer will
attend the sale, with his "git thaI''' stroke.
Buyers will find
mallY good things ill the lvliller line.
"Fred" Boc],stege has decided to spend a part of his surplus cash by the erection of a splendid home in Evansville,
rather than ill planting a furniture factory at Sault Ste. Marie,
Mich.
The Rosse Furniture Comp;lt1y have had a very successful season of trade.
Their line of kitchen cahinets and
wardrobes are ever ln steady demand.
A catalogue may be
had for the asking.
Montgomery Rockers and Couches.
The H. ]. I\fontgomer:r flJanufacturing Company of Silver
Creek, X. Y., has sent out a neat little booklet describing and
illustrating
their line of high grade Turkish rockers and
couches.
They specialize in the manufacture
of these
goods, confining themselves to these fe\-\' patterns of couches
and chairs.
Tll couches they use a double cone spring on a
slat, with the S. & 1-1. fastenings on top, no twine being. used.
This is the constructioll
used and approved by the Ul'ited
States government.
In their Turkish rockers particular attention is given to seat room and to the rocker spring and iu
adjustment;
avoiding· the annoyance mally have experie,l1ced
in having to change the springs.
Every buyer and dealer
owes it to his business tn investigate their line and prices.
Their motto is "A short line at short price:~."
Additions
to the Century
Line.
The Centmy Furniture CompallY of Grand Rapids Mich.,
announce the addition of a new department to thcir line consisting of dining chairs, chamber chairs and rockers.
They
will also add a llumber of new patterns
including some reproductions
of rare pieces by Chippendale
and other old
Why Not Order?
Say a dozen at more Montgomery
Iron Display Couch Trucks senlyou
on approval? If nol satisfactory they can be
returned at no expen.se to you whatever,
while the price asked is but a trifle, C()m~
pared to the convenience they afford and
the economy they represent in the saving
of floor space.
Thirty_two couches mounted on the
Montgomery Iron Display Couch Trucks
occupy the same floor space as twelve dis_
played in the usual manner.
Write for catalogue siving full description and price in the different finishes, to~
gether with illustrations demonstrating the
use of the Giani Short Rail Bed Fastener
for Iron Beds. Manufactured by
H. J. MONTGOMERY
PATRNTRR
Silver Creek, New York,
u. s.
A.
Dennis Wire and Iron Co., Canadian Manu_
faduren. London, Ont.
English masters.
Their line consists of the finer grades of
parlor, library, and living room furniture in mahogany, walnut
and gold leaf, including suites, davenports,
sofas, couches,.
odd chairs, rockers, fireside chairs, reception
chairs, hall
chairs, stools, tabourettes,
piano seats, English upholstered
ch::lirs, and sofas, dining room chairs, chamber chairs and
rockers, etc., in accurate reproductions of all the great French
and English styles, and also the Colonials.
60
MiEcellaneous
Notes.
The Imperial Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Mich.,
have sold their sectional bookcase business t'O the (). C. S.
Olsen Company of Chicago.
The space hertofore used by
that department will be used to increase the output of tables.
The White Furniture Company of Mebane, N. c., recently
shipped several carloads of furniture billed "To Uncle Sam,
Panama."
The cars were decorated with ballflcrS inscribed
"For the Big Ditch; From the vVhite Furniture Company."
The Dodge-Spear Company, successor to the old house of
Pitts, Kimball & Co'. of Boston, is facing a petition in bankruptcy, filed by creditors W}lO were dissatisfied with the appointment of a receiver selected by the debtors.
I
Eldredge & Peabody of Boston, who were burned out in
December last, took possession of an elegant new store on
the old site during the jirst week in June.
Mr. Peabody will
visit the Grand Rapids market as usual.
J "VV. Dunwell of Butler, Mo., has sold l1is furniture business to James T. Glanville, a brother of F. J. Glanville, the
well known furniture dealer of Kansas ,City, Kan,
way and the flash threw the burning fluid in his face which
was severly burned. He was taken to the Hotel Pantlind and
for a time it was feared that he might lose his sight, but Dr.
D. Emmet vVelsh who attended him, said that only one of his
eyes had been dangerously injured and expressed the opinionthat it would come out all right, unless unexpected complications ensued,
jHrs. Grobhiser has been with her husband at
the Pantlind since the accident and he hopes to be able to
leave his room by the first of July or earlier.
Prices on Mirror Plates Withdrawn.
On June 18, after prices had been placed upon the fall lines
of goods, telegrams were receive'd in Grand Rapids from
makers of mirror plates, withdrawing prices.
This action
on the part of the plate makers threw the silverers and bev-
John Hummel, furniture dealer of BroDklyn, N. Y., who
recently made an assignment for the benefit of creditors, will
pay 100 cents on the dollar and continue business_
The Gutter Fumiture Company of Port Huron, Mich.,
will soon move into larger quarters, having leased and remodeled the armory building on :\lilitary street.
Pritz Brothers, furniture dealers of South Bethlehem, Pa.,
were closed out by the sheriff on June 10. The creditors; received less than 25 per ccnt.
Turner & CUne, furniture, hardware and undcrtaking,
Bradshaw, ).Jeb., have dissolved partnership.
A. B. Turner
continues the business.
Conrad & Kiesker, furniture dcalers of Fresno, CaL, made
an :l5sjgnnH',]]L \V. Parkcr Lyon bought the stock in bulk
and crcditors were paid in full.
The plant of the Kincajd Furniture Company, Statesville,
was damaged to the extent of about $2,000 by a wind
and hail storm recently.
N.
c.,
The general offices of the Simmons rVIanufacturing Company have been moved from Chicago to the factory at Kenosha" Wis.
The Fisher-Herrington
Furniture Manufacturing Company
of Allentown, Pa., recently embarrassed,will
pay 75 cents on
the dollar.
The Steel Fixture Manufacturing Company is ,a ncw CDIl"-crn in Topeka, Kan.
Thcy make steel fmniturt, lockers,
etc.
Creditors have filed a petition in bankruptcy against the
Happy Home Furniture Company of New Bedford, Mass.
The Laupheimer Furniture Company of Baltimore,
has been placed in the hands of a receiver;
Md.,
An involuntary petition in bankruptcy
against the Danville (Ill.) Rarg<J:inStore.
filed
has
been
The V1lichita (K;w.) mattress factory is to be enlarged and
supplied with ncw etjuipment.
P. H. Snouk & Co. of Atlanta, Ga., have filed a voluntary
petition in bankruptcy.
C. 1\,1. Gower of \Vichita, Kan., has sold his furniture store
to H. S. Crane.
Made by Richmond Chair 00 •• Riohmond, Ind.
elefs "up in the air," and caused the manufacturers to Hsit
up and take notice."
\Vhat the future has in store for the
manufacturers and the silverers and bevelers will, be revealed
in time.
The trade in general was led to believe that the
question of prices had been definitely determined for the: season by the convention held in Pittsburg recently, but strange
and unexpected events often occur in the mirror trade;
Lines for the Lihrary and the Dining
Mr. Grobhiser Painfully Injured.
William C. Grobhiser of the Grobhi5er & Crosby Furniture
Company, Sturgis, and president of the Manufacturers' Building Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., was painfully and quite
seriously injured in Grand Rapids on June 15.
While filling
the tank in his automobile the gasoline caught fire in some
Room.
The Cabinet Makers Company of Grand Rapids are devoting their energies and talents to the production of medium
and fine furniture for the library and the dining room. Many
beautiful samples, in which the periods are well represented,
are on exhibition on tht ground floor of the Manufacturerst
building.
---------------------------~-----
-
---
-
61
HOLIDAY GOODS CAME LATE
BUT
DEALERS
GOOD SPRING
IN THE
FAR
WEST
HAVE
HAD
A
TRADE.
Arthur F. Switz Tells of Condition on the Pacific Coast and
in the Mountain States.
Arthur F. Switz. a resident of California, who represents
the Sligh Furniture Company of Grand Rapids and several
other good furniture manufacturing houses on the coast, arrived in Grand Rapids on June 14, accompanied by his wlfe,
preparatory to spending- the mid-summer season in the market.
j,.fr. S,vitz reported the outlook for trade in Caliiornla
as not very encouraging, but in Oregon, \Vashington and the
last to a point in California that had not reached the purchaser
at the date of his leaving the state.
Goods for the holidays,
which should have been unloaded in November, were ~eceived
by the buyer:; late in February, and the attempts made to dispose of toys alld like wares by special sales in March, were
unsllccessfuL
Mr. Switz is not discouraged by the outlook
in California.
The recuperative po-wers. of that state are so
great that a dull season oC trade is a rare exception.
On Sale in Chicago.
The Rex (inner-tufted) mattress, the latest and most important improvement in the line of bedding, is on sale in
Chicago. at 1319 lvfichigan avenue.
The Rex is the invention
of Charles A. Fisher, a practical mattress maker, of Lincoln
Ill.. wherc the firm of Charles A. Fisher & Co. operate a larg..;
factory.
The points of superiority contained in this in .'ClItion arc as £011m,",5: Its smooth surface can be swept clean
as easily as one can brush a tablecloth.
It cant a;',,; si.·;
times as n-:al1Ysustaining "tufts" as the old fashioned mat-
MADE BY WOODARD FURNITURE CO" OWOSSO. MICH.
mountain states, a heavy serlson's trade is looked for.
The
dealers of Seattle, Spokane, Portland and Tacoma have broken their records of sales over all seasons of the past, in quite a
number of il1stances the increased sales averaging from Gfty
to seventy-five per ccnt, though dealers have been greatly inconvenienced and ;:I11noyedin the delivery of goods from the
cast.
Thc folJm:ving furnishes an idea of the trouble growing
out of the cause mentioned.
Frederick Ncl!-iotl oC Seattle
unloads one car, on an average, every day in the year.
For
four months follmving December 15 last not a car of furniture
was received from the eastern territory for this hOllse. ,\Then
the blockade was raiscd and the goods commenced to arrive
in train Jots, thev.'ork of removing the goods from the railroads to thc "\varehouses of the company can be more easily
imagined than described.
Tn Spokane, after many months
of blockaded freights, Tull & Gibbs received from seven to
ten carloads per day, and spring style goods went out of fashion before they 'were received by the purchasers.
Mr. Switz
mentioncd a shipment made from Grand Rapids in ]anu<1fY
tress alHl the two sheets of strong netting besides.
Furthermore, the. ticking or cover: i", not punched fun of holes.
It
is practically indestructible.
Each and every square inch
of -its surface is equal1y soft and elastic.-no
hard spots,
bumps or hollows.
No creases, wrinkles or pits in which
dirt can cotkc..t and vennin can find h-iding places.
It costs
the same as an old-fashioned mattress made from materials
of equal value.
An occasional sun-bath, a whisk broom (and
the laundry in case of accident), will keep the Rcx (inllertufted) mattres!', in prilrc: condition for a lifetime.
::\Jr. Fisher will be pleased to meet all buyers 'arriving in
Chicago.
Speculation in Mirrors.
Have ,'Fall street methods of juggling with sectlnbes been
introduced in the mirror trade?
If so, who are the jugglers?
The manufacturers
of furniture 'arc entitled to information
on thi.s subject and may feel c.,om-pelledto call upon the general government to investigate the .situation.
L
62
No. 944 in Mahoga.ny. Top 34x60.
No. 953 in Oak. Top 28x48.:
MANUFACTURED
BY ORAND RAPIDS CHAIR CO., GRAND RAPIDS MICH.
ALL IN MAHOGANY AND OAK
/;3
SHELBYVlLLFJ
Shelbyville, J Ulle 23.-C F. Schmoe & Co., wanufacturers
of kitchen cabinets, gCllt[cmen's
wardrobes and chiffoniers,
will exhihit all the sixth floor of the l\lanufactnrcTs'
Furniture exchange, Chicago. during the July season.
:\lr.
Scl11roe \vill 1:e personally in charge of the Schmoe exhibit
and slates that their line will consist of twenty-one patterns
in oak and satin walnut.
He reports the trade as excellent
the past year alld that they have done twenty-five per cent
more business in the month of June than they did hst year.
His trade, he states, dropped off to some c"tellt last Jal~uary
011 account
of the floods prcvailing at that time.
The Shelbyville Desk Company aTC getting (Jut. their 11('\,\,
catalog-llc
<Llld it 'will be received
from the printers'
hands
July 1.
TI::c corrpally'sline
,this season will "how a list of
seventy-five patterns in o:lk and mahog'any. j\Jan:lgcr Charles
F. Kanrire
states th8t tl~ey have added a new departmellt
kitchen cabinets is a model of its kind.
Charlie Spiegel says
that they have been busy getting out their Ilew line of kitchen Gabinets for which this plant is to be used and that they
arc now just Jillishing up a large quantity of goods which
have been going through the preparatory
stages.
"Michigan of the South."
The :\Tannfactltrers' Record declares that Korth Carolina
with its notable progress as a furniture manufacturer
made
during tbe past tell or fifteen years, has come to be recognized
in this respect as the :rvTichigan of the south.
In other
states of that section more and more attention is being given
cvery year to the vast resources of timber, and the divers directiocs takcn in the utilization
of such supplies,
While
ether southern
states are rapidly depleting their forests by
prin::ary ltm~ber operations,
the old Tar Heel state is makillg
better use cf her timber resources by establishillg wood working factories and converting the timber into highly finished
products,
"']es as Poor."
Ralph Tictsort,
the secretary
of the Royal
cor:-p:u::y, \'v·hen asked for information
concerning
Furniture
the ne,\,
MADE BY LENTZ TABLE CO., NASHVILLE, MICH.
of sanitary desks ill low rolls, high rolls and fiat tops.
The
company hnve been having an exccllcllt trade during the past
year and at the present time arc doing a great deal of shipping into !lTexico.
1I1r. Karmire says that they will not have
an exhibit in Chicago this season as the delnands of t11eir
trade are Sl1ch that they arc crowded beyol~d their capac·ty.
He states that the volume of busines is such that it is a question with them if they \vill he able to shut down for repairs
at their tlsu::l! time in July.
The Shelhy\'ille vVardrobe Company will exhibit during
the July se;:iSOIl in GrallC! }{;lpic1s a~-d Chicago as usual.
Ivlap-.
ager Senor states that the cntrpaq"s
trade has heenexecllent during the p.nst yenr.
The BlalH.:hrd-1-1amilton Company hnve let the contract
for the erection
of <1110tl:er additicn to their plant, which is to
be ready for ClcCUpancy. in September.
Tbc new building
vvill be 40 x 90 in dimensions with th ree stories and basemen t.
Joe Hamilton s;;lys that his company have had a very large
trade and that the month of June has been One of the best
ill their history.
The new plant of the Spiegel Furniture Company which
was erected abollt three months ago for the manufacture of
line of chan:bcr alld dining room furniture brought out by
the COlT1pallYfor the fall season of tradc, remarked:
"I can
i:: form you, conscien_tiol1sly, lTy dear 5:r, that the Royal li11e
\vi11 be just as pOor as ever, but, please understand me, no
poorer.
\-Vhen it is remembered that the Royal lines of the
past were just as choice as it was possible for human skill
and taste to fLake (hem the sigrificance of the remark, is apparent.
l1enry Schmit So Co.
ttopkhUl aAd narrld SU.
Cincinnati. O.
MAEIE".OI'
UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE
LODGE AND PULPIT. PARLOR
LIBRARY, HOTEL
AND CLUB ROOM
-~-
---------
64
Furniture City Bedding Line
MAlTRESSES
SPRINGS
PILLOWS
A
SPEQALLY NOTEWORTHY LINE OF
FELT MATTRESSES
We have factory facilities and equipments to produce the very be:!t in our line
and respeCtfully solicit your patronage.
Catalogue and particulars to the trade.
HOT BLAST FEATHER CO.
Grand Rapids. Michigan
Penn Tables in Grand Rapids.
The Penn Furniture Company, which operates factories
in Huntington,
\V. Va" and Conneautville. Pa" have brought
out large lir:es of tables in new patterns for the fall season of
trade. Forty-two samples, induding
many new designs,
made of quartered oak and fillishcd golden and in early English, and also in a new finish which they call "Colonial," have
been placed upon the floors of T. Ashley Dent, in the Klingman building, Grand Rapids. The factory at Conneautville
is operated in the production of five leg tables, and in the
new, modern plant at Huntington,
W. Va" pedestal tables
to the number of 1200 per month are manufactured.
The
company is represented as follows:
T. Ashley Dent, 1718 Fuller (Flatiron)
Building, New
York.
L. H. Fullerton, New England states and New York.
T. H. Camp, far west.
L. E. Ullman, Metropolitan district.
Sanders Blanton, New York state, Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
These gentlemen will be present during the mid-summer
selling season in Grand Rapids, to meet their friends of the
trade. Buyers "..,ho have not" planned to yjsit the market
can obtain the company's new catalogue and price list by writing to the home office, at Huntington, W. Va. The business
is under the management of Chas. Svoboda, an experienced
and competent business man.
H~rman Lauter Dead.
Herman Lauter, for tlJirty years a furniture manufacturer
of Indianapolis, Ind., died on June 8, aged 69 years.
He was
born in Germany, came to America in 1865 and three years
later established a small furniture factory in New York.
In
1876 he WeYlt to Indianapolis, formed a partnership with
Charles Frese and under the firm natr.e of Lauter & Frese estc!blished a factory which was rcrr;arkably successfuL
Mr.
Frese di~d in 1880 and Mr. Lauter bou;l:t 1-i;;interest in the
factory from the heirs.
The business coct'inucd to grow an'd
a few years ago MT. Lauter built a new plant which is now
said to be the largest in Indiana.
He leaves a widow, six
daughters and one son-Alfred,
who is well qualified to succeed his father as manager of the business, leaving had several years' experience in the factory.
A Fast Selling Line of Chain.
A few years ago "Billy" Redmond, a master chair maker,
with a number of associates, commenced the manufacture of
chairs at Big Rapids, Mich.
The original line was so full of
merit that the goods bounded into the favor of the trade,
and having maintained the high standard established in the
beginning, the disposal of the output annually has been more
easily aecomplished than the manufacture of goods necessary
to fill the orders.
Many new pieces have been added to the
line, which has been placed on sale in the big Klingman building, Grand Rapids.
Associafed with. Mr. Redmond are
Charles A. Luce, a veteran of the furniture trade, and P. W.
Hathaway, an accomplished_ financier and all-around business
man ..
One Hundred Thousand for Adverti5ing.
The Gunn Furniture Company, manufacturers of sectional
bookcases and office desks, will expend the sum of $100,000
dming the fall months of the c.urrent year in advertising their
products.
It is the purpose of the company to acquaint the
general public with the merits of the company's furniture and
to create a larger demand for the same -through dealers
throughout the country.
An explanation of the plan is published on another page of the Artisan.
It should interest
every dealer.
65
White-McCarthy Furniture Co.
SALES AGENTS
CHICAGO:
3d Floor,1319 Michigan Ave.
READY JUt Y 1st, 1907
3
3
LINES OF CASE GOODS
LINES OF ·CHAIRS
OBERBECK
STANDARD
Bedroom furniture
complete.
Oak, Maple, Mahogany, Tuna,
Walnut.
Wood, Cane, Leather, Box Seat
Dining Chairs.
Box Seat Bedroom Chairs.
WHITE
Suites,
Dressers
J
KENDALL VILLE
Chiffoniers.
The greatest line from the Sout!l.
Morris Chairs, Rockers. New
Line; New Factory; Less Money.
BOOTH
Special
line
from Indiana.
Quartered
Oak, M a hog any.
Dressers, Chiffoniers, Princess.
HILLSBORO
C hea p Oak Chairs.
The best
jinished line.
AND
THE MODERN LINE OF HALL FURNITURE
Improvement has been made in every line. The lines
ahound in new .features---cle·ver conceits .from the
hand of skilled designers.
See the new Ten Piece
Oldene!m. 'The clean patterns .from the Southland--the strong .features throughout.
Visit
White-McCARTHY FURNITURE CO.
3d Floor, 1319 MICHIGAN AVE.
--CHICAGO--
66
·~~M.19,HIG7}N
THE MONARCH PUSH BUTTON CHAIR
EVERY PATTERN OF
OUR WELL KNOWN
LINE
OF MORRIS
CHAIRS
WILL
BE
EQUIPPED
WITH
THIS PUSH BUTTON
ATTACHMENT.
The Monarch is
Perfection, Comfort
and Utility.
Ramsey -Alton
Mfg. Co.
PORTLAND,
MICH.
Will Exhibit on the Ground Floor of the Ashton Building (Formerly
Grand Rapids, in July, 1907.
What a Retail Salesman Should Know.
How to frame up _and polish arguments so that .prospective customers may be impressed.
How to conduct the strate"gy of a sale; to guide the customers' mind; to arouse interest; to win confidence-; to be diplomati"cally persistent; to awakel~ enthusiasm; to carry conviction.
How to COllvert seeming disadvantages to f-cal advantages
-stumbling
blocks into stepping stones.
",
How to rr:eet competition.
How to maintain prices; to close sales; to build business
for the future; .to ~reate new avenues for trade; to keep old
customers in line, and to gain the permanent trade of new
Ones.
When the requirements have been mastered, the intelligent, thinking salesmen will discover that in many other respects there is room for self-improvement.
Note the simple yet a~soJuteJy rigid constructioti~
Fully guaranteed and protected by U. S. Letters
Patent Nos. 653,452 and
648,715.
Pythian Temple),
the exhibit have been materially strengthened.
There are,
however, several notable improvements in the buffets and
some new patterns of record cabinets are seen on the floors
for the first time.
Strong in Period Work.
, The Berkey & Gay Furniture Company of Grand Rapids
have prepared an unusually large line of samples of fine and
medium quality for the chamber, the library and the dining
room.
The "periods" are strongly represented in the designs.
The goods offered are in mahogany, Circassian walnut, and other popular finishes.
Competes With Himself.
Retail success on a large scale nowadays recognizes some
important divisions in the public.
A. cert.ain metropolital1
, merchant maintains two separate establishments, one for the
classes and the othet"for·the masses, and it is said that the
clerks in one do not even know that he controls the other.
He is his own competitor. urging in his advertiS'enlents to the
masses tllat they go to his bargain store and escape being
robbed by high prices, and in announcements to the classes
that they gO to the other place and avoid the crowd.
Strengthened
Their Line.
The Rockford (Ill.) Frame & Fixture Company have made
a number of additions to their popular line which is now on
sale in Grand Rapids.
There are no startling departures
from previo).ts styles and designs, but nearly all features in
Ikde.by
Thos. Md.ddlim.Son & Co., Indiana.polis.
Ind.
67
Penn Furniture Company
FACTORIES
..
Conneaut'ville,Pa., and Huntington, W. Va.
,----------
MANUFACTURERS
OF ---
,
EXTENSION DINING TABLES
Large Line of Samples
----10---
OAK
.
-FlNISHED-
GOLDEN, EARLY
ENGLISH AND
COLONIAL
on sale with
T. Ashley Dent
~~~-?HF~~~
Big (Klingman) Building, Grand Rapids, Mich.
REPRESENTATIVES:
T. ASHLEY DENT, Flat;ron Building, New rork.
L. A.
FULLERTON,
Ntw England
States (/nd New rork.
T. H. CAMP, Far W"t.
L. E. ULLMAN,
S.1NDERS
St4tt!,
Metropolitan Db/riel.
BLANTON,
r"k
Nt'"
PennsylfJt111ia and
EaJteril
OJdo.
For new Catalogue and Price List address main office:HUNTINGTON,
I
W. Va.
68
The Largest Refrigerator· Plant.
-The new plant of the Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company
-the Leonard Cleanable is their principal product-will be
the largest refrigerator plant in the world. It is being constructed in the form of an "E"with
the engine and boiler
room in the middle. The buildings will have three stories
and basement, the main factory being 60 x 350 feet; the south
wing 80 x 100 and the north wing 60 x 100. The enamel department will occupy one story and basement 80 x 100 feet and
there will he five warehouses each 150 x 150 and 24 feet high.
The four dry kilns will be 18 x 100 eaeh cr.ndthe power house
will be 60 x 80. The office building, stan/ling apart from the
plant will be 40x 60 feet, two stories and basement.
The
plant is located on Clyde Park avenue, near the end of the
Grandville avenue street car line.
eral million dollars.
A fact of interest to all engaged in the
furniture trade is that the new station is located within three
minutes walk of six of the leading ,furniture manufacturing
establishments of the city and from five to eight minutes walk
of all exposition buildings.
Fully 50,000 people indulged in
a jubilee on account of the opening of the station.
C. F. SCHMOE. al CO.
Manufacturer
of
Kitchen Cabinets, Gentlemen's Combination Wardrobes and Chiffoniers.
SHELBYVILLE, IND.
John Wanamaker Company Incorporated.
The application of John Wanamaker, Thomas B. Wanamaker, L. Rodman Wanamaker, William L. Nevin and Robert C. Ogden, to secure a charter of -incorporation for the
Wanamaker department store business has been granted by
the secretary of state at Albany, N. Y. ,The newspapers had
it, last month, that the company would be incorporated in
Pennsylvania.
Now it is stated that the Philadelphia business will not be incorporated at present.
The New York
business is incorporated under the name of the John Wanamaker Company, with a capital of $7,SOO,OCO.
The directors
of the corporation are the three Messrs. Wanamaker, :\'lr.
Nevin and 1lr. Ogden.
Managers for the Current Year.
The Grand Rapids Furniture Association (trade mark)
held their annual meeting on June 10 and elected W. H. Jones,
R. W. Irwin and F. Stuart Foote managers.
These gentlemen will elect the officers of the association.
A New Station Opened By the Grand Trunk Railway.
On Saturday, June 15, the Grand Trunk railway opened its
new down town passenger station in Grand Rapids which
with approaches leading thereto, has been under construction
during the past two years, involving the expenditure of sey-
Line 00 .ale at MANUFACTURER.S· FURNITURE EX·
CHANGE, Wab~sh and Fourteenth St., CHICAGO.
Write for Print. a.nd Prices.
MADE BY CEN,TUBY FURNITURE 00 .• GRAND' RAPIDS~MICa
"THE"
~
I July
"UPHAM"
Announcement
fJl
fJl
fJl
SUITES with WARDROBES and CHIFFONIERS-Oak
and Mahogany.
Very cheap ELM and OAK SUITES and DRESSERS.
CHIFFONIERS, PRINCESS DRESSERS, CHEAP and FANCY DRESS.
ERS in profusion. (Mahogany, Oak, Ash, Elm.)
fJl A hot line of FLASHY ASH SUITES---heavy rolls, large mirror.,etc.
(jJ SIDEBOARDS and BUFFETS in genuineoak at very low prices.
fJl Don't fail to see the above aggregation-the largest line madein anyone factory.
Upham Manufacturing Co.
1323-25 Michigan Ave .• CHICAGO.2d
~~
DA VENPO
Floor.
RT BEDS
============--
Destin t~e Worl~
---at---
Prices to Suit All
We also show the largestlineof Loose Cushion
Parlor Suites evershown,
also Leather Suites and
Couches.
Don't fail to see our line at our Show
Rooms. Over 8,000 ft. of floor space.
35 to 41 North Capl"tolAve.
Th OS. M a dd en, Son & C o.
INDIANAPOLIS,
INDIANA ...•
70
-f'~MICHIG.7lN
. .
17.
i
The Chief line
of
Sideboards, Chamber Suites,
Dressers, Chiffoniers,
Ladies' Dressing Tables
IN
MAHOGANY
and BIRDSEYE MAPLE
Also a fine line of
Dining and Chamber Chairs
in Fre,h and Novel Pattern,.
Ottawa Furniture Company
FACTORY:
HOLLAND, MICH.
Line on sale during the June-July season on the First Floor,
north half (sections S, 6, 7 and 8). Furniture Exhibition Building, Grand Rapids and at New York Furniture
Push-Button
Chairs "At Home."
The Monarch Push-Button
chairs made by the RamseyAlton Manufacturing
Company of Portland, Mich., arc "at
home" for the season on the 1st floor of the Ashton, formerly
the Pythi;lll Temple, building, Ionia street, opposite the Morton, Grand Rapids.
To say that they make "one of the fmest exhibits in the market" is 110t enough.
They are
one of the most attractive collections of easy chairs ever exhibited in any market.
There are almost a hundred--97 to be exact-different
patterns and every piece is a feature of the collection.
Abollt
half of the patterns arc entircly new, exhibited fOT the [Lfst
time and there is
lack of variety in the matter of shapes
and sizes.
They afC made in all kinds of oak and mahogany, with any finish, on either wood that may he desired, and
upholste;red in any fabric that the taste of the buyer may demand-plush,
vclour, velvet, fabrikoid, roanskin or the genuine leathers-and
the vmrkmanship, on both frames aml
upholstering, is of the best in all grades and shades, every
piece, whether cheapest or best, being made and finished right.
And talk about comfort!
It is found to the utmost
degree in the p'ush~bt1tton chair and what is something more,
it is there combined with elegance and beauty.
vVhether a
rocker or of the 1-1orris typ'e,it may be adjusted to the ease
and comfort ef the occupant without lea\ring the seat by merely pushing the button and adjusting the back to the angle de-
"0
sired.
1h. Ramsey is giving the exhibit his personal attention
and is certainly justified in being proud of the results of his
efforts.
He has given, much time and study to the sdectiot1 ofst-yles and has produced excellent examples of the
most PORu1<,l.r
,periods, 'English and Mission.
One of the
new features consists of upholstered wings attached to the
sides of the back cushions.
They add greatly to the rest-
Exchange.
ful appearance of the chair and ""ill surely add to the comfort
and convenience, of invalids.
Something more than words is necessary to convey' an
idea of the merits in the Ramsey-Alton line. Personal obser,
vation and study is necessary in order to fully appreciate th~
advantages and real worth of this exhibit and those who inspect it will declare that this article does not do it Justice.
Addition to the Fancy Line.
The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Fancy Furniture Company
have exceeded all former efforts' in their offerings for the fan
trade.
Their exhibit which was ready for business at the
opening of the :;;eason on June 17, is located in the fifth floor
of the Blodgett block and will certainly prove attractive to
buyers.
It consists of ladies' desks, bookcases, music cabinets, writing desks, cellarettes, and flower stands as heretofore and they have added a line of cheap and medit\m~priced
cabinets in oak and mahogany, intended to hold every kind
of record, whether roll, cylinder or disc-used
in musical
and talking machines,
Jobbers
as Retailer~.
A peculiar condition of affairs is reported in Huntsville,
Ala.
There arc four furniture houses in that city which are
classed as jobbers, but it is said to be an "open secret" that
three of them do more retailing than wholesaling, that is, the
larger part 01 the business is done directly with consumers,
who are given the same prices as the retailers.
W, L. Halsey
is the exception.
Retailers in that section are talking and
thteatening organized retaliation, but have not, as yet, taken
any definite action.
•
•
7IR T I.S'J:L"J
.e
The Michigan Chair Company's Excelsior Line.
On account of their determination to climb steadlly upward and om-Yard, the l\ficbig-an Chair Company might very
appropriately call their exhibit the excelsior line. The moving spirit of Longfellow's famous poem seems to have been
implanted in the otncials of the compallY.
Every season,
stylc:s new and better arc brought out to replace chairs and
other articles of furniture that v.'ere deemed of especial merit
before, and this Season is not an exception to the record of the
past.
The pieces number more than a thousand and cover
7
$.
71
of many chair fac~
as much Boor space as all departments
tories.
Mr. Taylor Rapid~y Recovering.
Vincent A. Taylor, president of the Taylor Chair Company
of Bedford, Ohio" had one of his legs broken in May by a
plank falJing on him,
He has rapidly r('eovered from the injury and is !lOW able to visit the factory by using a wheeled
chair,
Show in Chicago and New York.
The Herzog Art Furniture Company will show their large
line of mt1sic cabinets, ladies" desks, tables and kindred goods
at the expositions in Chicago and X ew York.
The line has
been greatly strengthened in number of pieces and quality,
FOR SALE-STOCK
In Barber Bros. Chair Company at a price that ought to interest the directors of the company.
This stock will be sold
and aIJ.yonewanting to get a good thing cheap will do well to
investigate.
Apply to Geo. S. Boltwood,. 605 Michigan Trust
building, Grand Rapids, Mich.
6-25-lt
SHERATON CHAMBER SUITE
------
MADE
By'----
_
BERKEY & GAY FURNITURE COMPANY
Grand Rapids
Michigan
,.
•
72
.
SHELBYVILLE DESK CO.
MANUFACTURERS
OF
OFFICE DESKS
Mahogany,
I
and lmilation Qgartered Oak,
Oak in Three Grades.
SPECIAL
Plain
FEATURES
A SQUARE
DEAL
Write for latest CAtalogue.
SHELBYVILLE,
IND.
Carson Excelsior Factory Will be Rebuilt.
The J. A. Carson Company's excelsior factory at Sutton's
Bay, Mich., was totally destroyed by fire recently.
The owners had their all invested in the business and had no insurance, but citizens held a mass meeting and subscribed enough
to insure the rebuilding of the plant.
A Larger Line in Circassian Walnut.
The LtlCe Furniture Company of Grand Rapids offer many
new patterns of furniture for the chamber and the dining
room, including a large addition of pieces in Circassian walnut
of the better grades.
The company will also show the usual
number oi staples in mahogany and domestic woods.
A Pair 01 Whys.
The opportunity
is presented for ev'cry dealer in furniture and kindred goods to become a tuail-order merchant.
But little additional capital is required, as goodspufchased
by mail arc paid tor before ddiv<::ry. Why should not legitimate dealers participate in this profitable business?
Why
should this rich field be left to the big fellows for cultivation?
Only Colored Man In His Line.
The only negro engaged in the manufacture ot furniture
in the United States is located in Fayetteville, N. C.
He
operates a little shop in the manufacture of low priced furniture,
His name is Jefferson Williams.
INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS
Alaska Refrigerator Co
55
Barnes, W. F: & John, Co
-27
Berkey & Gay Furniture Co
10
Berry 'Br-others
32
Bissell Carpet Sweeper Co
53
Bockstege Furniture Co
~
40
Boltwood, George S
71
Bosse Furniture Co
.41
Cabinet Makers Company
35
Central Furniture Co (Rockford) .. 18
Century Furniture Co
37
Chicago Wood Finishing Co
_.. 17
Cline Manufacturing Co
30
Detroit & Buffalo Steamboat Line.49
Estey Manufacturing Co
,
7
Evansville Metal Bed Co
41
Fisher, Charles A., & Co
59
Ford & Johnson Co
,···· .27
Globe Furniture Co
,
40
G. R. Carved Moulding Co
Covet
Grand Rapids Brass Co
39
Grand Rapids Caster Cup Co
25
Grand' Rapids Chair Co...........
5
Grand Rapids Fancy Furniture Co .. 12
Grand Rapids. Furniture Co ....•...
44
Grand Rapids Furniture Polish Co. 49
Gunn Furniture Co
51
G. R. & I. Ry. Co
Cover
Herzog Art Furniture Co.. . .
. .33
Hot Blast Feather Co......
.
64
Hotel Pantlind
57
Hoffman Brothers Co_
34
Imperial Furniture Co
,. 4
Jamestown Lounge Co
·· .13
Johnson Chair Co..
.
31
Karges Furniture Co
····· 41
Kauffman Manufacturing
Co
30
Lathrop, The, Company
44
Lentz Table Co
· .. ···.47
Lexington
Hotel, Chicago
52
Luce Furniture Co
11
Luce-Redmond Furniture Co
43
Manistee Manufacturing Co.. . . . . .. 9
Madden, Thos., Son & Co
69
Manufacturers'
Ex. Bldg. Co. (Chicago)
16
Mechanics Furniture Co
-.. 30
Michigan Chair Co
·· 3
Miller, Eli D., & Co
40
Montgomery,
H. J
59
Moon Desk Co
47
Morton House
57
Mueller & Slack Co
" ,.
22
Murphy Chair Co
·······
38
Muskegon Valley Furniture Co
54
Nelson~Matter
Co
Cover
Northern Furniture Co
15
Oriel Cabinet Co
6
Ottawa Furniture Co
70
Paine, C. S.. Co., Ltd
23
Palmer Manufacturing
Co
38
Peabody School Furniture Co
34
Penn Furniture
Co
·.·· 67
Pioneer Manufacturing Co
38
Plimpton, F. T .• & Co
18
Posselius Bros. Furn. Mfg. Co
42
Ramsey-Alton
Manufacturing
Co .. 66
Richmond Chair Co ~
21
Robbins Table Co
34
Rockford Chair & Furn. Co
Cover
Rockford Frame· & Fixture Co.. . .. 8
Rockford Standard Furniture Co
22
Rock Island-Frisco
System
57
Royal Chair Co
Cover
Royal Furniture Co
,
14
Royal Mantel & Furniture Co
26
Safety Folding Bed Co
39
Sargent Manufacturing Co
54
Schmit, Henry, & Co
63
Schmoe. C. F .• & Co
68
Sextro Manufacturing Co
, .. 46
Shelbyville Desk Co
72
Sligh Furniture c.o................
1
Smith & Davis Manufacturing Co .. 31
Spencer & Barnes Co
46
Spratt, George, & Co
26
Star Caster'Cup Co
52
Stow & Davis Furniture Co
30
St. Johns Table Co
35
Taylor ChatI' Co
Cover
Udell Works, The
34
Union Furniture Co. (Rockford)
30
Upham Manufacturing
Co
69
Valley City Desk Co
23
West Michigan Furniture Co
2
White~McCarthy Furniture Co
65
White Printing Co
26.47
Widman, J. C., & Co
57
Woodard Furniture Co
53
'rt
u----RELI4BLE and SUBST4NTI4U fURNITURE
SUCH AS WE
MAKE IS EVER
THE SOURCE
OF PLEASURE
AND PROFIT
[TO THE
RETAILER AND
THE
PURCHASER
"o(Mor~ (~air
an~furniture (0.
ROCKFORD,
ILL.
Blodgett Block. Grand Rapids. In JUly.
"The Moulding of Quality"
Have Been
We are
No. 57. ~,1.
1Mand IX. inch.,
the Original
in
Manufacturers
Business for
of
20 Years,
CARVED
MOULDING
300 Patterns
Send for Folder.
No: a.ROPE.
~t~IWlneh.
iiil 7 jilt
'No. I. BEAD.
~.
jjj
* and
I
..
Samples
on Applicatton.
~ Ineh.
Grand Rapids Carved Moulding Co.
FACTORY CORNER FRONT and MYRTLE
GRAND RAPIDS,
MICH.
STS.
~:
l
l
The ROYAL
•
IS
Push Bulton
Morris Chair
the Origirial
Ei12ht lean
Test Have
01
Established- Its
Supremacy.
THE"ROYAL
All OtLer!
are Imitators.
PUSH BUTTON
No Others
MORRIS CHAIR
So Good.
MORRIS CHAIRS
·-FROM--.
$6.25
to
$30.00
CATALOGUE UPON APPLICATION
ROYill Chair Co.
STURGIS,
Chicago
MICH.
Salellroom; let Floor, G. D. Williamll Co.,
1323 Mich. Ave., CHICAGO, IlL.
TAKE
YOUR
Summer Outing
IN
COMFORT
I
Some of the most Comfortable places are to be found in
Northern
Michigan
amongst its hundreds of SUMMER ..RESORTS
reached most comfortably via the
GRAND RAPIDS & INDIANA RAILWAY
Through Sleeping Cars from Chicago, St. Loui., Cincinnati, Delroit, Louisville. Indianapolis and Grand Rapid.
====
Send for
"Michigan
Profusely·
descriptive
====
in Summer"
illustrated
and
of thegeresons
.. Where to go Fishing"
Containing many Photos and Information regarding
the fishing places along the G. R. & I.
"HIAWATHA
FOLDER"
Beautifully illustrating the Indian Play "Hiawatha"
given at Wa.ya-ga-mllg near Petoskey and Time Folder.
Address:--c.
L. LOCKWbOD,
GRANj)
RAPIDS,
Gen. P.".
MICH.
Agl.
which are