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Canadian Makers and Retailers

Adams Furniture Co.

·         Toronto, ON, 1895 (as C.F. Adams Co., name changed early 1900s?) – 1970s

·         large home furnishings department store and presumably manufacturer; expanded to four stores by the 1930s

·         general line of Mission and other styles, thin representation in 1907 catalog with expanded line in 1910 catalog

 

Shop Mark: “The Adams Furniture Company of Toronto LTD.” (found on a period phonograph)

 

Catalogs:

 

 

1907 and 1910

 

Advertising: period pin/card trays with cast iron stove advertising

 

 

Anchor Bedding Co. Ltd.

·         Preston, ON (now Cambridge) (wholesale showrooms in Toronto & Montreal), early 1900s

·         brass and iron beds, Mission style davenports

 

Catalog: ca. 1910

 

Baetz Brothers Furniture Co. (Ltd.?)

·         Kitchener, ON (named changed from Berlin 1914), 1908 - 1967? with company name change to Anthes Baetz Furniture Co. ca. 1920

·         chairs, rockers, settle copy of Gustav Stickley

 

Catalog: facsimile, unknown date

 

Bell Furniture Co. Ltd.

·         Southampton, ON, 1907 - 1937

·         general line; bedroom, living room, dining room, arm chairs

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

Joseph Bouchard

·         Pointe-au-Pic, PQ, ca. 1910 – 1983

·         small family run cabinetmaker shop

·         Morris chair, adjustable floor lamp, lamp table, sideboard, custom work, in Mission style from local hardwoods (birch/maple/elm)

Canada Furniture Manufacturers Limited

·         Woodstock, head office, with factories in Wiarton, Wigham, Woodstock, Waterloo, Walkerton, Berlin (Kitchener), Seaforth, (presumably other locations), ON, wholesale showrooms in Toronto, ON and Winnipeg, MN, 1901 - 1914?

·         an amalgamation of no less than 17 - 20 (references vary) furniture companies controlled by Siemons Brothers; reportedly only 3 of the original 16 factories were running by 1908 however the ca. 1911 catalog illustrates 9 factories

·         full line in ‘Mission’, ‘Art Craft’, ‘Old English’ and other styles; manufacturer of Macey bookcases and sectional filing cabinets for Canada (Seaforth factory)

·         Robert Simpson Company Limited catalog of 1911-12 has several CFM pieces from the 1911 catalog shown below

 

Shop Marks:

 

  

Marks found on a Macey stacking bookcase; plain sawn oak office style

 

Mark found on Macey stacking bookcase with leaded glass fronts

 

Catalog:

 

Edwin Challener,  b. 1843 – d. 1914

·         cabinetmaker of George Agnew Reid music cabinet ca. 1905

James A. Cole Furniture Co. Limited

·         Ingersoll, ON, early 1900s?

·         lamp tables

 

Shop Mark:

 

F.E. Coombe Furniture Co. Limited (originally Watson and Coombe)

·         Kincardine, ON, 1903 - 1972

·         tables, desks, smokers cabinets, bookcases, all types of seating, office furniture

 

Catalog: 1916-17 facsimile

 

Dominion Furniture Co.

·         Edmonton, AB, ca. 1921

·         tables, dressers

T. Eaton Co. Limited (commonly ‘Eaton’s’)

·         Toronto, ON (warehouses Winnipeg, MN, Moncton, NB), 1869 - 1999

·         iconic largest retail mail order operation in Canada (early order offices across the country) plus early flagship stores in Toronto and Winnipeg

·         general line in Mission which first appears in the Fall-Winter 1905 catalog, with other styles, and continues to at least 1924

 

Shop marks:

 

 

First example, shipping tag found on a Mission china cabinet

 

Catalogs: various dates 1906 - 1922/23 which still contains Mission furniture

 

  

 

  

 

 

Elmira Furniture Co.

·         Elmira, ON, early 1900s

·         chairs in Mission style, presumably also diners, tables, rockers, based on shop mark

 

Shop Mark:

Globe-Wernicke Co. (see also, listing in American Manufacturers section)

·         Stratford, ON, 1903 – 1926, factory sold in 1926 to Preston-Noelting Ltd.

·         Canadian branch making stacking bookcases, filing cabinets, office supplies

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

First example, retailer’s mark over a bookcase mark, second, from a stacking baookcase

 

Combination tag noting Preston-Noelting, probably from ca. 1926 when the factory was sold; the Globe name was likely used under license for a certain period

Grand and Toy Ltd. (retailer)

·         Toronto, ON, 1883 - present

·         office furniture and office supplies

 

Shop Mark:

 

Hespeler Furniture Co. Ltd.

·         Hespeler, ON (now Cambridge), 1901 - 1964

·         dressers, washstands, beds, assumed general line

 

Shop Mark:

 

Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Co. (or commonly Heywood Wakefield)

Heywood Wakefield Furniture Co. of Canada

·         Orillia, ON, 1921 - at least 1926, factory and warehouse, Montreal, PQ, in business 1926, salesroom and warehouse (see also listing in American Makers)

·         Orillia factory noted for production of baby carriages; other products unknown and products carried/shown in Montreal also unknown however given the prolific range of chairs, settles, office chairs, and Mission style wicker produced in the United States it is assumed a variety of product was stored and sold in Canada

John Kay Co. Ltd.

·         Toronto, ON, early 1900s

·         retailer; sold H. Krug Furniture Co. desks

·         amalgamated into Murray-Kay Limited 1910

 

Shop Mark:

 

Kindel Bed Company

·         Toronto, ON (New York, Chicago) (see listing in American Makers)

·         sofa beds

Knechtel Furniture Co. Ltd.

·         factories in Walkerton, Hanover (1867), Southampton (1901), ON, 1867 – 1983

·         assumed general line, bookcases, stacking bookcases

 

Shop Mark:  decal on stacking bookcases, and:

 

Kroehler Mfg. Co.

·         Stratford, ON, ca. 1913 (see also listing in American Makers)

·         chairs, sofa beds

 

Shop Mark:

 

 

Two variants, slightly different line weight

H. Krug Furniture Co. Limited

·         Berlin, ON (name changed to Kitchener, ON, 1919), 1880 - present

·         office furniture, Mission tables, desks, chairs, rockers, foot stools, waste baskets, copies of Stickley Brothers, Harden

 

Shop Marks:  shop marks are generally found on office furniture but not Mission style furniture; stenciled model numbers sometimes seen on Mission style

 

  

 

 

Catalog: 1913 (same cover as 1910)

 

P.T. Legaré Limitée

·         Quebec City, PQ, head office, stores in Sherbrooke and Montréal, 1896 (?) – 1930s

·         retailer general line Mission style, also catalog sales to other Provinces and agricultural/auto equipment

Library Bureau Sole Makers

·         Canadian location (factory ?, branch office ?) based on known shop mark “Library Bureau Sole Makers, Canada”, see details in American Makers section, late 1800s – 1925?

·         filing cabinets, card catalogs

The Lippert Furniture Co. Ltd. / Geo. J. Lippert Table Co.

·         Kitchener, ON, 1899 - early 1930s

·         George Lippert Sr. and George Jacob Lippert are associated with the respective company names noted above; assumed to be family with George Jacob being the junior and who created his own company ca. 1910 – there also are historical references to the H. A. Lippert Furniture Factory in Kitchener

·         tables, jardinière stands, bookstand derivative of Gustav Stickley, ‘Hemco’ Morris chair with sliding footrest

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

Malcolm & Souter

·         Hamilton, ON, 1885 - 1969

·         largest historical furniture manufacturer in Hamilton

·         Mission library tables, sideboards, general line assumed

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

McGill Chairs Ltd.

·         Cornwall, ON, ?  –  at least 1926

·         chairs derivative of Harvey Ellis for Gustav Stickley

George McLagan Furniture Co.

·         Stratford, ON, ca. 1902 - 1918 (the owner, George McLagan, died at work in 1918)

·         general line, dining room sets, hall seats, library tables

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

 

Mitchell & McGill

·         Toronto, ON, ? - at least 1929

·         filing cabinets, chairs?

 

Shop Mark: decal

 

·         Elora, ON, 1896 - 1929?

·         John C. Mundell was a successor to his father’s (also John) company which began in 1880

·         assumed general line, Morris chairs, telephone table

·         known Morris Chair also seen in Canadian Furniture Manufacturers catalog of 1911 and Robert Simpson Company Limited catalog of 1911-12; as a result it is assumed this company was part of the CFM amalgamation or alternatively, pieces were copied, wholesaled, or plans were licensed

 

Shop Mark:

 

Murray-Kay Limited

·         retailer; Toronto, ON, and Montreal, PQ, successor to John Kay Co. Ltd. and W.A. Murray & Company Ltd., 1910 - 1923

·         small tables, umbrella stands, china cabinets etc.

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

National Table Co., Limited

·         Owen Sound, ON, ca. 1898 – ca. 1929

·         lamp tables, smoker stands, bedroom and dining furniture, library furniture

 

Shop Mark:

 

North American Furniture Co. Ltd.

·         Owen Sound, ON, 1910 – ca. 1939

·         dining and bedroom sets, server carts, chairs

·         catalog amalgamation with the Owen Sound Chair Co Ltd., start date unknown

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

 

 

Catalog: 1921 combined with Owen Sound Chair Co. Ltd.

 

The Office Specialty Mfg. Co.

·         Newmarket and Toronto, ON, 1888 - 1920s?

·         subsidiary of Yawman & Erbe Mfg. Co. of Rochester, NY

·         tables, card filing drawers and cabinets, bank and mail boxes, other office supplies, post office furniture

 

Shop Marks: mark of “Yawman & Erbe Mfg. Co., Toronto” is also known, in addition to the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog: 1920 post office supply catalog

 

Owen Sound Chair Co. Ltd.

·         Owen Sound, ON, 1912 – late 1930s

·         living, dining, child, and office chairs

·         catalog amalgamation with the North American Furniture Co. Ltd., start date unknown

 

Catalog: 1921 combined with the North American Furniture Co. Ltd.

 

Preston-Noelting Ltd.

·         Stratford, ON, 1926 – early 1990’s (factory purchased from Globe-Wernicke Co. in 1926)

·         stacking book cases, file boxes, under the “Prestonia” brand name

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

Tag with handwritten pattern and finish codes, and tag with printed pattern and finish codes

 

Decal mark on the bottom edge of a stacking bookcase door frame, viewable when the door is open and slid into the top of the respective stacking section

George Agnew Reid, b. 1860 – d. 1947

·         genre painter and muralist who also did furniture and interior design, principally in the Toronto area

·         active in academia and society levels

·         furniture examples (noted as 1900, piano and bench, and 1905, music cabinet) held by the National Gallery of Canada

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Agnew_Reid

Reid Brothers Manufacturing Company

·         Toronto, ON, early 1900s

·         cabinetmakers of furniture (e.g. piano and bench) designed by George Agnew Reid (no relation)

Reid’s Furniture Store

·         Brampton, ON, early 1900’s

·         retailer; sold Nataional Table Co. tables

 

Shop Mark:

 

The St. Lawrence Furniture Co. Limited

·         Riviere-Du- Loup, QC, early 1900s

·         very few Mission style pieces in printed oak finish

 

Catalog: facsimile, No. 7, date unknown

 

Robert Simpson Company Limited

·         Toronto, ON (also Montreal, Regina, Halifax), 1872-1952 then Simpson Sears

·         large retail mail order operation with flagship store in Toronto; primary competitor to T. Eaton Co. Limited with generally a better selection of Mission oak based on catalog comparison

·         general line in Mission and other styles

·         several pieces in the 1911-12 catalog are seen in the Canadian Furniture Manufacturers catalog of 1911, who is thus likely to have been a major regional supplier

 

Catalogs:

 

 

1911-12 and 1917-1918

Skinner & Son Co. ?

·         Orillia, ON, early 1900s, retailer or manufacturer?

·         china cabinets

 

Shop Mark: stenciled “SKINNER & SON CO. / ORILLIA”

Snyder Bros. Upholstering Co.

·         Waterloo, ON, early 1900s

·         “Thorobed” sofa beds

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

Stratford Chair Co. Ltd.

·         Stratford, ON, early 1900s

·         side, arm, rocking chairs; pieces with carved geometric designs

 

Shop Marks:

 

 

Strathroy Furniture Company Limited

·         Strathroy, ON, 1896 - 1992

·         sideboards

 

Shop Mark:

 

N. G. Valiquette Limited

·         Montreal, PQ, 1894 – 1980s, maybe later

·         large furniture retailer; bedroom and living room Mission furniture

Vetcraft Shops

·         Toronto & Hamilton, ON, 1919 – 1926

·         Canadian Govt. shop that employed disabled veterans of the First World War; Hamilton location reported to be the shop that made furniture and toys

·         children’s desks and chairs; also wooden toys, doll furniture, wooden plaques, and a range of Arts & Crafts hammered metalwork (Toronto shop); also Remembrance Day poppies

 

Shop Marks:

 

  

First two, found on child’s chair and roll-top desk, third, found on a wooden plaque

Victoriaville Furniture Company

·         Victoriaville, PQ, early 1900s

·         general line of printed oak finish Mission style, possibly solid oak as well (?)

 

Catalog: 1911

 

Walker and Clegg

·         Wingham, ON, early 1900s

·         lamp tables, library tables, drop leaf table, book trough, arm chairs, rocking chairs, day bed, Morris chairs, settles, many models derivative of Gustav Stickley

 

Catalog: facsimile, date unknown

 

Winnipeg Furniture Co.

·         Winnipeg, MN, early 1900s

·         high back benches

 

Shop Mark: known piece noted as marked

 

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