More Yd Sale Finds

$3
This piece was marked
Willett Lancaster Co

A Little Willett History

From the website http://www.dldebertin.com/willett/willett.htm

Details about the history of the Willett Furniture company

in Kentucky, based on clippings from Louisville

 Courier Journal Newspapers during the era.

Consider H. Willett and his brother W.R Willett were

 in the lumber business when in 1934 Consider H. founded

 the Willett Furniture Co. They were at the time of this writing

 the largest maker of cherry and maple furniture in the US. the

article gives a profit for the year 1946 of 2,600,000. dollars.

By 1947 standards, this would have been a very successful

 company in terms of size, earnings and profit.

In 1949 they bought a plant in New Albany, Ind. for the

manufacture of Kitchen cabinets. These were done in birch.

Apparently, the kitchen cabinet business was less

successful than the furniture business.

The firm got into serious financial difficulty in about

1960, and between 1960 and 1964 the company

changed hands in an effort to save the firm.

Assets of the Willett firm were auctioned in June

 1964 and the firm ceased operation at that time.

The furniture manufacturing equipment was simply

sold off to bidders at the auction, and that the

detailed production drawings for each furniture piece

were also auctioned off. It is believed that the drawings

ended up in the hands of a furniture manufacturer

 somewhere in the Eastern United States, but so

far as anyone knows, no other manufacturer has

attempted to continue to produce any of the pieces.

At least as of the year 2000, the old Willett factory

 is still standing. It is on the corner of 30th and

Kentucky in Louisville, The Willett name

was still legible on the side of the brick.

Chair #1 $2.50

underneath

I couldn't find anything

specific on this chair

The W.H. Gunlocke Chair Company 

was founded in 1902 by William H. Gunlocke

 and four other furniture experts in Wayland, New York.

Inititally, the company was designed to manufacture 

seats for houses, lounges and libraries, but later 

expanded to include seating for offices as well. 

Gunlocke's office seating line became increasingly 

popular, so much so that the company was 

awarded with a National Contract with Western Electric; 

and as a result decided to discontinue their household 

furniture items in order to focus on their office line.

Some of the many notable clients who purchased 

W.H. Gunlocke's office furniture items

 include President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 

who chose Gunlocke to furnish the White House.

Chair #2

I also got this display rack

for $2

I have already been playing

with what I want to use it for

Also got a 12 candle

chandolier that

will be converted into

a plug in for my booth at night

I paid $10 for

it and it had been 

on clearance at

Lowe's for $97

It is still in the box

and be assembled

We got this 

we aren't sure

 sofa table vs desk

for $10

 We decided to keep it

for a room we are renovating

as an office

There aren't any markings

or stickers

well maybe a red delicious apple

one and some crayon marks....