Mid2Mod: Nathan C. Ancell

Showing posts with label Nathan C. Ancell. Show all posts

Monday, September 26, 2011

Baumritter Corporation

Theodore Baumritter and his brother-in-law Nathan C. Ancell started a housewares company in 1932, making plaster gnomes, trellises and garden swings. Three years later, they paid $25,000 for a bankrupt furniture factory in Beecher Falls, Vermont, and began manufacturing furniture. In 1939 the company introduced a line of "Early American" furniture they called Ethan Allen.

By 1962, Baumritter and Ancell owned 14 furniture factories in the East. By the middle of the 1960's, the Baumritter Corporation had the largest group of furniture in the world, with a 1,600-piece line to choose from. They also had stores by that time in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Australia, and Canada. In 1970, Baumritter retired, and Ancell took over the company. In 1972, The Baumritter Corporation officially changed its name to Ethan Allen Industries.

Viko was the Baumritter Corporation's modern line, which was produced in the 1950s and 1960s. There were only around 150 pieces in the modern line. Many of the upholstered pieces had reversible cushions.

From nytimes.com and fundinguniverse.com