1907: The First Catalog
1907 Furniture Catalog Cover
In exchange for company stock, the Fox & Mason Furniture Company of
Corunna, Michigan helped the Arcadia Furniture Company get into the
furniture business, and jointly they produced the 1907 furniture
catalog. It included pictures of about 40 pieces of
furniture.
Dimensions: 6 inches tall by 9 inches wide
Source: Ruth Starke Burkhead
"TO THE TRADE
The building of the new factory at Arcadia enables us to care for your orders in a much more prompt and satisfactory manner than in the past. We wish to express our thanks for your liberal patronage during the past and assure you that we will do our best to merit continued confidence in the future. We have added greatly to our line of furniture, especially in the American Quartered Finish, and have improved the style and finish of the same. ...
Sales office for both factories,
Corruna, Mich."
- 1907 Catalog
1908: Arcadia's First Catalog
1908 Catalog Cover.
By
1908, the catalog does not mention the Fox & Mason Furniture Company,
although it lists the Arcadia Furniture Company's
officers and directors, and these include key players from the other
company.
This catalog included pictures of about 46
pieces of furniture. Dimensions: 6 inches tall by 9
inches wide
Source: Ruth Starke Burkhead
The 1908 catalog was very similar to the 1907 catalog in size and shape. However, by then a few things had changed in addition to a bigger selection of furniture:
- The catalog applied exclusively to The Arcadia Furniture Company; it was not produced jointly with the Fox & Mason Furniture Company.
- The catalog listed the factory and office as being in Arcadia, not Corunna.
- The company had picked a niche for itself, "Cheap and Medium Priced Furniture." Later they would change that to "low- to medium-priced bedroom furniture."
1909 Catalog
1909 Catalog Cover
In just the third year of its existence, the
Arcadia Furniture Company produced about 60 different pieces of bedroom
furniture. Each piece could be ordered with variations
such as the size and shape of the mirror, which was produced at the
factory's mirror works.
Source: Ruth Starke Burkhead
The 1909 catalog for The Arcadia Furniture Company was a thing of beauty. The cover was brightly colored and included a complex raised company logo and a flap to enclose the catalog or perhaps act as a bookmark to locate a specific page.
For the first time, this catalog showed sample bedroom suites along with individual pieces. A suite generally consisted of a particular dresser and bed headboard and footboard, but a note would say "Commodes to match."
Prices were not included in the catalog. A salesman would carry a separate price list, which would allow prices to change without affecting the catalog. Prices were still very low by today's standards.
See the 1909 Furniture Showroom.
1912 Catalog
1912 Catalog Cover.
This
catalog shows the format used for all known
catalogs after 1909. The new catalog format (lower
right) provided much more room per page for showing individual pieces
and bedroom suites.
Dimensions: Just under 8 inches wide and 10.75
tall
Source: Ruth Starke Burkhead
By 1912, the Arcadia Furniture Company catalog used a standard format they would continue to use through the 1930s. No catalogs from 1910 or 1911 are known, so the switch to this format might have happened before 1912.
The Museum's Catalogs and Furniture Database
1907: Joint Catalog with the Fox & Mason Furniture Co.
1908: The Arcadia Furniture Co.
1909: The Arcadia Furniture Co.
1912: Arcadia Furniture Co.
Bed Room Furniture and Sideboards
1913: Arcadia Furniture
Co.
Bed Room Furniture and Sideboards
1916: Arcadia Furniture
Co.
Bed Room Furniture and Sideboards
1922: Arcadia Furniture Co.
Bed Room Furniture and Sideboards
1928: Arcadia
Furniture Co.
Bed Room Furniture and Sideboards
1929: Catalogue
Bedroom Furniture Sideboards
1930: New
Bedroom Suites and Odd Pieces
1933:
Catalogue
Bedroom Furniture Sideboards