Credit for the production of the
first chairs is given to James Comee who, in 1805, with the use of a foot lathe
began the manufacturing of wood and flag seated chairs. Later, Elijah Putnam,
who served as an apprentice to Comee, began the construction of open cane
seated chairs. At first his method of production was the foot-powered lathe but
he eventually adopted wind-power, a horse treadmill and water-power.
By 1878 twelve chair shops had been
established in Gardner. One of these shops was begun by the Heywood Brothers in
1826. This was the inception of what would become the Heywood-Wakefield
Company, the single largest manufacturer of chairs in the United States. Under
the leadership of one of the brothers, Levi Heywood, innovative production
methods were introduced such as steam power, the use of band saws and new
processes for bending wood. Levi also introduced a whole new line of products.
In addition to wooden chairs, rattan and reed chairs and furniture were manufactured,
and eventually the company was the first to produce baby carriages made of
rattan and reed.
Just some other companies who
conducted chair and furniture manufacturing in the city were Conant Ball
Company which made cane seat chairs and later bedroom and dining chairs, P.
Derby and Company which became the second largest manufacturer of chairs in the
United States, C.H. Hartshorn Inc. manufactured hand woven reed chairs and
later maple furniture, Gem Industries became well known for its dormitory furniture,
Conant Ball Company produced cane seat chairs and reproductions of early
American furniture. Also, both S. Bent and Brothers Inc. and Nichols and Stone
Company became nationally known for the manufacturing of college and university
chairs.
Essentially, except for Nichols and
Stone, large scale chair and furniture manufacturing has disappeared in
Gardner. However, the Gardner Museum preserves the memory of this once vibrant
industry with an extensive chair and furniture display that can be seen throughout
the Museum. Amongst the items on display are:
- James Comee chair from the early 1800s
- S. Bent Brothers highchair circa 1850 and a five
spindle chair
- Conant Ball wooden side chair
- Gem Industries crib
- Nichols and Stone rocker
- Heywood-Wakefield antique Victorian sewing table,
wicker piano chair, a five piece bedroom set hand decorated by the Hill
brothers, an executive desk, school desks, baby carriages, a child’s crib
which is an example of the first steam wood bending process, and a double
seat from the former Boston Garden.
It should also be noted that, within
its collections, the Museum has numerous catalogs and photographs from the
furniture industry.