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Berkey and Gay Furniture Co. History

"Many prominent names were associated with this largest of Grand Rapids’ residential furniture manufacturers. Brothers William and Julius Berkey were among the first to make the transition from the sash and blind milling to furniture production. William H. Gay, the son of an early partner in the business, George Gay, became a prominent leader of both the company and the community and sat on the boards of many banks and civic organizations. After his death in 1920, George Whitworth and five members of the Wallace family, led by Winfred J. Wallace, took the reins of the company. Under their management, several plants were merged into the giant Consolidated Furniture Companies, which had its own newsletter, gymnasium, Americanization classes, sports leagues, and farm. They advertised aggressively directly to consumers in the most highly circulated journals of the day.

Cabinetmaker John Frohberg (or Froburgh) may have created designs for Berkey & Gay in the early 1870s. John Keck of Ann Arbor, Michigan, designed Renaissance Revival, Neo-Grec, and Eastlake-style pieces on contract for Berkey & Gay in the 1870s. Louis Bornemann became the company’s chief designer sometime after the Centennial Exposition, and left to work for Phoenix and finally on his own in 1886. Frederick Koskul and John Mowatt designed for Berkey & Gay between 1877 and 1879. Arthur Kirkpatrick, who grew up in Grand Rapids, received formal art training before he became a designer at Berkey & Gay. He went on to found the Grand Rapids School of Furniture Designing in 1904. Adrian Margantin designed pieces in Golden Oak and Colonial styles for Berkey & Gay from 1898 until his death in 1914. Several designers, including Lachlan MacLachlan in the 1910s and Frank C. Lee in the 1920s, came to Grand Rapids via a sort of “pipeline” from the prestigious Waring & Gillow in London and W. & J. Sloane in New York. They brought with them considerable knowledge of classical decoration and period styles, which is reflected in the company’s products of the time.

Many Berkey & Gay designs required a considerable amount of hand craftsmanship, so the company cultivated large departments of carvers and decorators. Some including Fred Weber and Chris Haraldstadt grew up in America but came from regions of Germany and Norway that were known for their carving traditions, and worked for forty years or more at Berkey & Gay. Others, like Florentine master carver Leopold Baillot, and Japanese decorator Fuji Nakamiso, were recruited through American foreign embassies to bring their experience overseas, to work for Berkey & Gay.

PRODUCTS

Because of the company’s size and longevity, collectors seem to encounter Berkey & Gay products more frequently than those of any other Grand Rapids company. Its inventory of lines was quite large and varied over time; only a brief overview is included here.

1866 - 1890: From its very first machine-made, scalloped, walnut and cherry “Berkey Tables,” the company’s products were made for wholesale shipment and sale to the masses. Berkey & Gay capitalized on the public’s interest in whole suites of “suits” of furniture, which included everything needed for bedrooms and dining rooms. Pieces were also manufactured for the hall and office. Much of the company’s early production was likely shipped “in the white” (unfinished), to be finished by the retailer upon arrival. Some pieces, however, were given painted faux burl panels at the factory. Large contracts for bedroom suites were supplied to hotels in Washing and in New York at Coney Island and Manhattan Beach.

With its introduction to the country at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, it became known for the production of massive Renaissance Revival beds and secretaries. Typically of walnut and walnut burl, with lower-end suites in ash, they were decorated with multiple layers of geometric and architectonic panels and carvings. In fact, Berkey & Gay’s products of this period have become synonymous with the term “Grand Rapids furniture” in the minds of many collectors.

An 1878 article in the American Cabinetmaker says the company “makes a specialty of bevel plate mirrors in their finer work.” The article revealed that sides and ends of drawers were produced in red cedar to prevent moths. It also noted that Berkey & Gay did not make its own parlor frames, but purchased them from Holton & Hildreth of Chicago, then completed the upholstery for its own retail trade.

Eastlake style suites from the late 1870s and ‘80s were equally massive. Some at the higher end demonstrate a keen knowledge of Eastlake’s principles of design and stand apart from the company’s other medium-grade lines.

1890 – 1915: As consumer style preferences changed, so did Berkey & Gay, but the feeling of massiveness and strength in its furniture remained. The company continued to produce whole suites for the parlor, bedroom, and dining room. Pieces were in Golden Oak or mahogany. Berkey & Gay’s Golden Oak pieces have very high relief in their carving, which ranged from grotesque fantasy creatures to swirling French flourishes.

A few Arts and Crafts style suites were introduced in the first decade of this century under names like “English Modern,” but generally speaking Berkey & Gay passed on the whole movement.

1915 – 1931: The era between World War I and the Great Depression was Berkey & Gay’s zenith of production. Upholstering was spun off to subsidiaries like Wallace Upholstery and Grand Rapids Upholstery, so Berkey & Gay concentrated on living room and bedroom suites. Although designs ran the gamut of freely translated European and American revival styles, most tended toward larger, heavier periods like Elizabet*****, ***** and Mary, and American Empire.

Pieces were well constructed. A variety of woods was used, mostly dark mahoganies and walnuts, with occasional accents of lighter woods, painted decoration, or exotic materials like turquoise. These were further darkened by the application of stains wiped around edges and carvings, to give the appearance of age.

One interesting novelty was the "Old Ironsides Table,” of which only about 100 were produced. Its scalloped apron and block-turned legs and stretchers were adapted from an illustration in a Wallace Nutting book on American antiques. An eagle medallion on the single drawer front was carved in the wood taken from the U.S.S. Constitution, during its restoration in Boston Harbor.

1934 – 1948: Berkey & Gay had ventured into Modern or Art Deco designs before it was closed in 1931, and continued to produce both “traditional and modern” lines when it re-opened. Kem Weber contracted to design a Modern line, but his relationship with the company turned sour over its financial difficulties.

The popular frenzy over the novel and movie Gone With the Wind inspired Berkey & Gay’s “Old South Line” in the late 1930s. It featured Victorian Revival parlor chairs and full and half-tester beds."

Other Sources

Both the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Grand Rapids Public Library have large collections of advertising pieces and company histories as well and trade catalogs from Berkey & Gay.

The date period of your set is the turn of the century - ca 1890-1910.

A dealer's estimated retail asking price for your antique Berkey and Gay dining set, as described, would be $8600-9800 CAD.

Please know that "brown" furniture is not currently popular. Decorators prefer lighter colors - whites, grays, beiges. I wish I had better news.

Online auctions like eBay generally bring wholesale selling prices (30%-50% of retail). Sales in the eBay "Buy It Now" format are closer to retail.

If you would like to sell close to estimated retail, some ideas are:
The internet has the largest audience of buyers. Place small ads on these sites or set up your own small store on these sites.
Be sure to specify a local pick up only for large items. That way the buyer would be responsible for obtaining his own insurance and transport.
These sites carry antique as well as vintage items.
Accept PayPal only.
Etsy.com - small fee to list plus 3.5% final price.
Artfire.com
AmazonMarketplace.com
Chairish.com
These sites are excellent and more upscale but fees are higher. I only recommend them if you have several items to sell.
Rubylane.com
Tias.com
cyberattic.com
trocadero.com
https://www.justcollecting.com
Or your nearest CraigsList.com, nextdoor.com, Facebook.com, or Facebook Marketplace where you can list items for free. Accept cash only.

Ultimately, to obtain these retail values we assume the piece or set is in good condition and that the final value depends on sale geographic location.
In general, a private seller to a dealer, via consignment or at auction can expect 30-50% of estimated retail value.
Insurance replacement values are usually about 20%-50% more than retail values.
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I sent you the value range.

Again, here is what I sent:

he date period of your set is the turn of the century - ca 1890-1910.

A dealer's estimated retail asking price for your antique Berkey and Gay dining set, as described, would be $8600-9800 CAD.

Please know that "brown" furniture is not currently popular. Decorators prefer lighter colors - whites, grays, beiges. I wish I had better news.