Can anyone tell me about the Macy furniture company? I have seen a gorgeous Lawyer's book case and was curious about the maker.

Fred

Is this the one you have seen Fred? - currently on ebay


There are a couple Macy stackers in "The Encyclopedia of American Oak Furniture" (Swedberg & Swedberg 2000) that show the same bottom drawer and claw feet, and even though the pics in this book are black and white they are clearly in oak. The ebay one is advertised as mahogany and some of the pics clearly show mahogany pieces, and mahogany veneer, BUT a common trick of the day was to use a deep red shellac over maple and birch in pieces like the outside walls - I'm not saying this is the case with this one but there is a chance. I have a Globe-Wernicke stacker done like this and coincidentally the side bands on mine are identical to the ones on this Macy - same manufacturer perhaps ??? a sub-contracted brand perhaps ???

The Macy stacker case I saw was locally at a shop and it was very Arts & Crafts style with Mortise & tenon joinery. And rather more squared that the one in your image. They are asking a great deal of money for it and it is in great shape and looks pretty nice.

Thanks for the image you found.

Fred

...a little more digging...


- Macey Office Furniture Co., Grand Rapids (1893-1946)
called Macey Co., 1896-1902
reorganized as Fred Macey Furniture Co., bankrupt, 1902
purchased by Earle S. Irwin; did war production, 1939
purchased by Steelcase

- Macey-Wernicke Co., Grand Rapids (1895-1905)

...a couple of oak stackers and a steel case by Macey on ebay right now, with a couple sellers claiming interchangeable parts with Globe-Wernicke cases (hence the Macey-Wernicke Co. as noted above)

- the mahogany multi-section is listed as $8000.00 to open but no bids with about 1/2 an hour to go

Macey, Fred Grand Rapids Gossip 02/03 1904 5 1
A. Fred Macey sold furniture in Grand Rapids, Mich., beginning in 1892. He started with a mail-order business, selling office desks made by other furniture makers. His advertising and the offer of a $25 roll-top desk succeeded, and he expanded the line to include office and library furniture.
Retail stores complained that his mail-order sales hurt their businesses, so many manufacturers stopped selling him furniture. Macey decided to make his own furniture about 1900, and he continued to sell by mail.
In 1905, the company merged with the Wernicke Furniture Co., and Macey Wernicke Co. started. In 1908, the name was simplified to the Macey Co. Fred Macey died in 1909, and Otto Wernicke became president. The company had money problems in 1916, then recovered, but then went bankrupt in 1937. It closed in 1940.
The furniture is marked in many ways. The cursive mark "Macey" was used in 1896, the oval mark in 1926. The rectangular mark "Macey- Wernicke Co." was used from 1905 to 1908. Later became Steelcase Co