Year 1909 Arcadia Furniture Company

[jeff...]

Man look at these pieces of wood furniture and the prices :swoon:

http://www.arcadiami.com/Exhibits/Factory/showroom1909.htm

 

[TracyP]

:swoon::swoon:

 

[DaveO]

I am always amazed when I see things like this. Even though electric service was rapidly being spread across the country. I would suspect that these pieces were mostly made without, using handtools.
I can't figure out how to make them with my "modern" tooling, or the not so modern.


Dave

 

[mlzettl]

Even though they might not have had power tools in the sense that we think of them today, I'll bet that that they were running power tools off of a line shaft. Even so, I would agree that much of that work had to have been done by hand.

It would be interesting to know what the hourly or daily wage of those craftsmen was.

It's always interesting to see those old catalogs and price lists, as we tend to consider them in the context of what we experience today. Makes it almost laughable, but I suspect that furniture was fairly expensive for it's time.

Matt

 

[Mike Davis]

This shows that our dollar has gone down in value by 1000% in 100 years. :no:

 

[PChristy]

:swoon: man you can't even buy a desent drawer pull now for most of the prices they have for the whole piese of furniture

 

[jeff...]

Well in 1944 a man made $15.04 for 40 hours worth of work ---> http://www.arcadiami.com/Exhibits/Factory/factorystory.htm

The place originally started out in 1906 as a sawmill company, the sawmill burnt down The Story of the Arcadia Furniture Company

I like this old stuff and the furniture is just simply awesome.

 

[Jim M.]

Just for fun I ran 1909 through an inflation calculator program I have:

What cost $1 in 1909 would cost $22.81 in 2007. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2007 and 1909, they would cost you $1 and $0.05 respectively. Jim

 

[nelsone]

Wow! I'll take three of each!:gar-Bi

 

[jeff...]

Just for fun I ran 1909 through an inflation calculator program I have:

What cost $1 in 1909 would cost $22.81 in 2007. Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2007 and 1909, they would cost you $1 and $0.05 respectively. Jim

So in 1909 the Somnoe is the cheapest in the catalog @ $2.75, in 2007 it would cost $55.00 (2.75 / .05 = 55) - man that seems pretty cheap don't you think?

Could anyone here build that little QSWO Somnoe with a 17" x 17" top curved legs and brass wheels on all four legs. Then turn around and sell it for $55.00 and make any kind of profit? I know I couldn't :no:

 

[Gofor]

I think a better calculation would be more of logarithmic on a 50 year basis. By that, the $2.75 Somnoe would have cost $27.50 in 1957, and $275.00 today. The $11.50 dresser would have been $115 in '57 and 1,150 today. Looking at cars, prices today are about 10 times what they were in 1958, as well as what was considered a "living wage" at that time.

Go

 

[KC7CN]

Man look at these pieces of wood furniture and the prices :swoon:

http://www.arcadiami.com/Exhibits/Factory/showroom1909.htm

WOW! This stuff is older than my bedroom dresser.:gar-La;



-Don

 

[jeff...]

I think a better calculation would be more of logarithmic on a 50 year basis. By that, the $2.75 Somnoe would have cost $27.50 in 1957, and $275.00 today. The $11.50 dresser would have been $115 in '57 and 1,150 today. Looking at cars, prices today are about 10 times what they were in 1958, as well as what was considered a "living wage" at that time.

Go

Go I think that's more like it... $275.00 vers $55.00 seems like a better estimate. Old furniture is cool, I really like the style back around the beginning of the 1900's. We have a walnut dresser from that era, it even still has the brass wheels for feet and the swell drawers. Pretty cool and build to withstand a massive explosion...

Thanks

 

[gator]

One reason they may have gone out of business was poor accounting. According to the pay stub, he made $15.00 and they took 96¢ out for SS and Taxes which left him $15.04. With that kind of extravagant mis-calculation they would go under pretty quick.

George

 

[jeff...]

WOW! This stuff is older than my bedroom dresser.:gar-La;



-Don

Don that's on nice dresser - did you make that?

One reason they may have gone out of business was poor accounting. According to the pay stub, he made $15.00 and they took 96¢ out for SS and Taxes which left him $15.04. With that kind of extravagant mis-calculation they would go under pretty quick.

George you forgot about the union - the place was located up in Michigan, I'm almost certain there was a union. Most likely the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) or the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

 

[cpowell]

Wow, thanks for sharing. I love looking at stuff like that. Beautiful craftsmanship for a reasonable price.


Chuck

 

[pcooper]

Yes, that is real cool stuff. I've never run across anything like that before. Amazing what a buck would buy in 1909, but then there are folks today that expect the quality and the price of the 1909 stuff. I also believe the higher price for today's value, I've seen pieces that go for over a grand in the furniture mart at Hickory, and would be comparable to the $11 stuff.

 

[KC7CN]

Don that's on nice dresser - did you make that?
.

No, I didn't make it. It was my gransparents dresser, and it didn't look anything like that when I got it; it had a real dark varish - almost black (to cover all the ink spots on the top).

-Don

 

[jeff...]

No, I didn't make it. It was my gransparents dresser, and it didn't look anything like that when I got it; it had a real dark varish - almost black (to cover all the ink spots on the top).

-Don

Don that is a beautiful dresser and you did one awesome job on the restore - I looked in your photo gallery and seen the before and after pics.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=838&ppuser=0

But you should not have posted a picture of that dresser in this thread. My wife saw it and wants me to make one like it. Like I have spare time time, yeah right :roll: So I did manage to get some understanding on the time issue and it got put down twords the bottom of the list... Anyways could you please post some measurements when you got time, that way I could get a idea of the size. Are the legs 1 3/4" sq or 1 1/2"?

Thanks

 

[JackLeg]

Even though they might not have had power tools in the sense that we think of them today, I'll bet that that they were running power tools off of a line shaft. Even so, I would agree that much of that work had to have been done by hand.

It would be interesting to know what the hourly or daily wage of those craftsmen was.

It's always interesting to see those old catalogs and price lists, as we tend to consider them in the context of what we experience today. Makes it almost laughable, but I suspect that furniture was fairly expensive for it's time.

Matt

The first five pieces of ww machinery I owned didn't have a single electric motor on them! It was ALL run by line shafts powered by a water wheel. AND, the old fellow made the wooden gears that meshed to run the tools!!

Also, I used to sell wholesale hardware to retail hardware stores. I collected old hardware catalogues. I've still got a couple of them and it will blow your mind to see the prices! And I believe some of that old stuff was much better than the stuff we see today. I remember when the first "plastic" circular saws came out! CHEAP!!

:wsmile: