DOUG’S Q-C COLLECTIBLES: Writing desk has a local connection
Dear Doug: I found this old desk in 1966 in a walk-in attic in a house I used to live in. As you can see, it has been restored, and I believe it is a writing desk. On the bottom of the drawer where it can be pulled out is the number 497. Other than that, I don’t have much info on it. Would you have any idea what period it is from, etc.?
Thank you!
Larry M.
Dear Larry: It looks to be in good shape and still has all four legs. Sometimes you’ll find them missing a leg. Those are called writing easels.
This is more correctly referred to as a spinet desk, and it was made by the Bay View Furniture Co. of Holland, Mich. Bay View was in business from 1898 to 1934. As an interesting side note, the last president of the company, George Arthur Pelgrim, later fronted the money to his son-in-law for the Mac Bay Boat Co., which manufactured affordable molded plywood-hulled boats out of the basement of the old furniture company starting in 1948. They remained in business until 1964, when the market had been thoroughly taken over by fiberglass boat construction.
Holland is only a little more than 30 minutes away from Grand Rapids, which carries the label “Furniture Capital of the World.” Grand Rapids traces its roots to 1836, when Deacon William Haldane began making handmade furniture in his home. So, the area, to say the least, has been quite well-known for quality furniture for a century-and-a-half. Today, the area boasts 68 furniture factories employing more than 13,000 craftsmen. The town hosts a world-renowned semiannual furniture show that attracts more than 400 companies and 2,500 outside retail dealers per year.
The local connection to this piece can be traced to the store in which it was purchased: the McKinley & Hummelgaard Furniture Co. of Clinton, Iowa. Originally called McKinley & Luce, it became McKinley & Hummelgaard in 1929 and remained in business until Edward McKinley retired. The doors closed shortly after that in 1979. Incidentally, that location has remained a furniture store even to this day; for many years, the Better Family Furniture store has been at 215 S. 2nd St.
The “497” under the drawer is a serial number marking this as the 497th of this particular model to be made.
Your desk appears to be of the style popular in the 1930s, and, if I’ve gotten my facts straight, was purchased between 1929 and 1934. Because this is not 100 years old, it really isn’t considered an antique. And, as furniture goes, it’s just a baby. Unfortunately, as you probably can attest, spinet desks are quite inefficient without the 88 keys and piano wire. They really aren’t very popular and, therefore, do not bring much money. Depending on their condition, they retail in the $150 to $250 range.
Of course, taxiing the desk back to Holland would fetch a better price since it would be more desirable with its local connection there. The bottom line is that you are doing the right thing by making it a useful and functional piece of furniture, bringing some nostalgia and personality to the décor of your home.
Contact Doug Smith with your collectibles questions by e-mailing him at DougsQCCollecting@hotmail.com or send a note to the Quad-City Times, Attn.: features editor, P.O. Box 3828, Davenport, IA, 52808. Please send a photograph, if available, either by e-mail or letter.