Six Leather Barrel Chairs on Caster Wheels
My grandfather had six leather barrel chairs made in 1965. They were custom-made by Style Upholstery Company in Hickory, NC and ordered through and sold to him by Klingman's Fine Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The tag claims that five were made but I have 6 chairs total. The chairs are a very dark brown-black. There are small scuffs on the wood legs, but overall the chairs are in good condition. The leather, casters, construction is all good. The leather has no rips, scratches, burns, or discolorations/stains and it isn't cracked anywhere. There are no other problems with the chairs. The metal (bronze?) casters are a little tarnished and could probably be cleaned or refreshed. The chairs are relatively small compared to todays large standards. They were specially made to be used as chairs for a large round card/poker table. They are likely too short to be used for modern dining sets. In addition to getting an appraisal, I have a question about selling them. Do you think I'd do better listing them as a set of 6, or a set of 2 and a set of 4, or just sets of 2s , or just sell them individually until they are gone?
Each chair is 28 inches tall, 24 inches wide, 22 inches deep. From the floor to the seat of the chair is 15 inches tall.
Inherited
Yes
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Custom-made furniture, while often luxurious and typically costly to acquire, is often hard to recoup monies on when going to sell it because it may not appeal to a broad audience of buyers. In this instance, an individual chair (in good gently used condition without stains to the leather, odors or scratches/breaks to the leather or frame) would have a fair-market (ie, the estimate it would carry if sold at auction) would be $200-300, so a set of 6 would be worth $1,200-1,800.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
A vintage set of six custom-made leather-upholstered barrel-back armchairs
made by the Style Upholstery Company in Hickory, N.C., retailed by Klingman's Fine Furniture Co, Grand Rapids, Mich, circa 1965
Each with rounded back, slightly flared pointed arms, straight front rail, raised on a walnut frame with square tapering legs ending in pad feet, on caster. Labeled.
each 28 inches overall height; 15 inches seat height, 24 inches wide, 22 inches deep.
CONDITION: These chairs appear to be in good condition; value assumes no stains, tears, repairs or odors to the upholstery and that the frame (legs, seat and back) are without repairs, replacements or losses.
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$ 1,200-1,800 for the set*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia
