Furniture Mystery Solved

A couple of years ago we purchased a cabinet at the flea market.  We really didn't have a place for it, but it intrigued me, and the dealer said he had started sanding it to strip off the original finish and realized he was sanding off the wood (YIKES) but then realized he was ruining it and stopped.  It was marked inside the drawer, Stickley Bros Grand Rapids.  After some negotiation, he came down to a price where I couldn't resist.

Over the years I've Google searched the cabinet using various search terms.  I couldn't find anything.  I found a kidney shaped enamel basin that fit into the space.   It has been used in our powder room to hold cleaning supplies and other assorted items.

The other day I decided to do a search again, and sent photos and questions to the Stickley Museum in Grand Rapids.  To my surprise, I got a response the next day.  Now I know...

Your Hospital Bedside Cabinet is part of Stickley Bros. Contract line. The Contract line was designed during the years just prior to WWII and continued on for a few years after the war until the contracts were phased out.  Most examples are made of solid maple as your piece appears to be.

Contracts were received for colleges and universities, prep schools and elementary schools and even nursery schools.  Libraries, sorority and fraternity houses, and hospitals all invested in Albert Stickley's contract furniture.

Collector interest in this line has not developed yet so it will be some years before it has any antique value.  Bear in mind however, Albert Stickley died in 1928 and never had a hand in the design of any of the contract items.  In most cases the designs were a product of an institution requesting bids from many manufacturers.  Therefore, the prospects of a collector market developing on the same scale as earlier, Stickley Brothers items, is remote.

You should feel to restore to your own personal needs, budget and satisfaction without loss of any potential future value.

The area below the shelf stored the bedpan, Hence the holes in the back!  And on a personal note. I have been using a similar hospital cabinet for over 35 years in my bedroom. It was part of the L & J G Stickley Contract Line, (Albert’s brothers company).  My great-uncle had it and must have gotten it when he worked here in the 1940's. Many Stickley employees were able to purchase items from the contract lines because they were lower priced.

I hope this has been helpful,

Mike Danial

Corporate Historian

Restoration Specialist

Stickley Furniture Co.

One Stickley Dr.

Manlius, NY 13104

www.stickleymuseum.com

www.stickley.com

www.nicholsandstone.com

www.facebook.com/StickleyFurniture

www.twitter.com/StickleyFurn

www.houzz.com/pro/StickleyFurniture

www.pinterest.com/StickleyFurn"

Thank you so much Mr. Danial.  I'm so happy to know what my cabinet was originally used for.  And, how nice that resources like this are available!