I‘M FASCINATED by the midcentury midwest furniture companies. I have this suspicion they were more interested in quality than transient styling. Willett was based in Indiana, and they made some really nice stuff. With real wood. My guy Royal Barry Wills also designed a line of furniture for them…. This Willett ad is from 1952…the 40s period was coming to an end…recall, 1953 started The Fifties. Can’t you just imagine how proud a family was when they bought this furniture? The sofa — it’s such a classic. And it was not cheap: $495. That’s $4,014 today!
1952 Willett maple furniture
Posted by: • June 13, 2009
Willett maple furniture – native to Kentucky, I believe 
More Broyhill Brasilia furniture — and a new Furniture Favorites section 
Full set of barrel furniture – on craigslist, Missouri 
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I like the secretary!
I’m quite curious about your comment: “recall, 1953 started The Fifties.” I’d be interested in reading a post(s?) about this theory!
Hi Maureen, I’ll try to do a post about your question!
Southern Indiana with its hardwood forests was (actually still is) home to many furniture companies. Showers Brothers operated from the 1860s until the 1950s, the Kendall Piano Co. was here, Batesville Casket Co., and Willett, as you mentioned. Another very early factory was the Orinoco Furniture Co. (makers of the Lincoln chair), Unpeeled hickory furniture is still made in Shelbyville, too.
Luckily there is still a small area of virgin forest not far from where I live, so not all of the oldest hardwoods were cut down!
I have a bench that is the same style and black and gold paint as that armchair in the upper left corner. Those were popular for the porches on MCM colonials. I actually bought that one for my porch (garage sale find in 1990) but have not yet put it out there. It lives in my bedroom now. I just love it.
Love this style of furniture. It’s what my mom and dad purchased back around 1959/60, but I don’t know the brand — I’ll have to ask her. The upholstered pieces are long gone, but Mom still uses the coffee table, end tables, a drum table, hutch, and dining table and chairs, all in solid maple in a “colonial” style. The dining table is round, and it seemed like we were the only family with a round table. It’s great for meals and for game playing. It’s all good quality, which made me wonder recently — how in the world did my parents pay for it all back then, since Mom didn’t work at that time, and dad wasn’t making much as an assistant editor at a small-town newspaper. I asked, and Mom said they made payments on it forever. I guess it was worth it, since it’s had a lot of use for 50 years.
I’m also interested in the fifties-began-in-’53 comment. I’m assuming this means aesthetics, as I think prevailing opinion is that the “fifties” began in 1947 when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and ended in 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated – but that’s from a sociological perspective.
I am looking for images of sofas like my Willett golden beryl and the accompanying chair in living room settings. I think I know how to accessorize the pieces, but have not yet turned up any leads. It looks to be a transitional style, but I’m not sure. Any help is appreciated.
I have a Wilett Golden Beryl Solid Maple (Reg US Pat Off) table measuring about 38″ wide by 22″ deep and 17 1/2 tall. The underside is an obvious gorgeous wood and quality craftsmanship. I’m trying to figure out if it is a coffee table or a play table for a child’s room as it is painted a deep dark royal blue, with a Teddy bear painted in the center with the entire table top outlined at the edge with the alphabet and numbers. I have this urge to refinish it to the gorgeous maple I see underneath but don’t want to do something stupid. Any ideas?
sorry, linda, i am not an expert….
In response to Femme1…Orinoco Furniture Company were NOT makers of the Lincoln chair. There was a company called Lincoln Chair Company in Columbus, Indiana, along with the Orinoco Furniture Company, but “the” Lincoln chair was not made by them. A “Lincoln chair” is a chair style that was designed for Abraham Lincoln.
The U.S. Lincoln Chair Company was named after the owner, William H. Lincoln, who started his career working at the Orinoco Furniture Company. He opened the Lincoln manufacturing plant in 1913, near Orinoco, making dining, den and living room furniture, in addition to chairs. The companies were merged in 1935, so for a short time they did produce the same items.
Lincoln Chair Company was not EVER called the U. S. Lincoln Chair Company. They did not manufacture a chair called the “Lincoln chair”. Wm. H. Lincoln was my great grandfather, so I think I know more about this subject than “Hoosier Historian” does.
The Lincoln Chair building was built in 1913. It was actually the WEST end of the United Way Agency complex that burned on Christmas Eve, 2009.
Please visit my web site to get your facts straight. I have done much research so that I could have a historical marker placed at the site of the Orinoco building. This marker also includes information about the Lincoln Chair Company. Both companies were headed up by my great grandfather, Wm. Harvey Lincoln, and then by my grandfather, Wm. Lucas Lincoln after the death of my great grandfather.
Thank you.
The Lincoln Chair Company was started in 1913 In the east end of the building that housed the United Way and other helpful organizations. The building was destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve, 2009. As of Jan. 16, 2010, the building still stands but is ruined.
The Consider H. Willett Company was based in Louisville Kentucky, and made furniture from the 1930′s until 1962.