I inherited a set of Conant Ball bookcases with lower cabinet doors, desk with chair, end tables - one square and one rectange and a taller sofa table. They have the Conant Ball burned in label on all pieces. The design on the tops of the three tables have a checkerboard design with squares of oak grain going one way and then the other. The doors have a bow tie insert and the bookcases, desk and tables use pegs or peg coverd screws on each side. The desk chair back is bowed. I found a similar chair in a dining room set posted by mrm on 6-07-06. I was hoping somone could give a history and possible age of these pieces. I think they are lovely and have been well cared for. Does anyone know the approximate value for this type of Conant Ball furniture?

Good Morning SKS,
Welcome to the Arts and Crafts Forums and we hope you will come back soon.

The name does not ring a bell with me and even my brand to be strange to some but without pictures or a location of the furniture geographic location it would be hard to tell anything in regard to the maker, year they were made and so forth.
If you would care to post pictures I recommend that you use photo bucket or Flicker photo as they are both free and you would be able to post them. By that I mean youpick a picture and place your cursor on the picture and right click and then click on properties. A box will open over the picture and you can see the URL.

Highlight that URL and right click again and click on copy. Then go back to your post and paste it into the body of the post, so when you upload your post it will appear or give the URL of where it is located of which when clicked will reveal the picture.

Respectfully,

The company was located in Gardner, Mass., and is no longer in business. It successfully manufactured large volumes of furniture, throughout most of the 20th century. The company's pinnacle of success was in the mid 1950's, when it had the wonderful idea of employing the great designer, Russel Wright, to design a line of mid-century modern furniture. Various market conditions will dictate the value of any particular item. The current hot trend seems to be along the Danish Modern lines of the 1960's. If your particular Conant Ball items are of this era, you are in luck. However, if your pieces are of a earlier time period, only time will tell if their will be a resurgence in both their appeal and actual market value. It is hard to determine either, especially without the help of actual photos. Thanks. Tim

Good Morning Tim,
Not having the pictures it would be hard to give a decent price on the pieces however,
with them being from the era they are from, their value would be dependent on how many were made in that style. If they are only a few of less than 100 made and distributed across the country and the designer is no longer with us his work may have a greater value.

As you know that I mark all of my pieces, autograph them as well as to date when I made them, they will only carry a low value but, after I have passed on they may gain in value.

Tim, for posting pictures on this forum you would have to go either Photo Bucket or Flickr and register for an account, which are free and then you would be able to post them in the manner I will explain when you come after your Hoosier cabinet door.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones