Where can I find photos or appraisals of furniturepieces made by
"Spencer, Barnes & Stuart Co" in Benton Harbor Michigan?

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Clarification of Question by scooby30-ga on 19 Sep 2004 17:48 PDT

I have a table with a Spencer, Barnes and Stuart Co label on it and
can date it between 1890 and 1930 and would like to know its value.

Dear scooby30-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.

Your piece of furniture can be dated to as early as 1891 but probably
no later than 1896. The reason I know this is because the manufacturer
of your piece of furniture has operated under many names in the past
and we know precisely during what span of years it used the ?Spencer,
Barnes & Stuart? name. In July of 1872 the company was first known as
Spencer & Allen. In October of that same year Jacob Allen sold his
interest in the business to Augustus Willard and the name changed
again to ?Spencer & Willard?. Only two years later in 1874 the
business changed its name yet again when Willard was succeeded by J.
E. Barnes and it took the name ?Spencer & Barnes?. In 1891, the era of
your piece of furniture, ?Spencer & Barnes? admitted C. D. Spencer to
their partnership and the business became ?Spencer, Barnes & Stuart?.
This business relationship was short lived however and Stuart withdrew
from the firm in 1896, at which time the business reverted back to its
original name, ?Spencer & Barnes?.

So you see, there was only a brief span of about five years, 1891 to
1896, that this business would have used the label ?Spencer, Barnes &
Stuart Co.? on its products and yours is apparently one of these
pieces which makes it fairly easy to date. The primary partner,
Benajah Hiatt Spencer, died in September 1929.

Martha Arney of Dunes Antiques, in Sawyer Michigan has been a member
of the International Society of Appraisers since 1995. Dunes Antiques
offers professional antique appraisals for insurance, estate, trust or
donation purposes. Because of the close proximity to Benton Harbor and
possibly some local knowledge of the legendary manufacturer of your
piece, I?m certain that they would be an excellent first choice to
assist you in finding out how much your furniture is worth.

Dunes Antique Center, Inc.
12825 Red Arrow Highway
Sawyer, Michigan 49125
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Phone: (269) 426-4043
Fax: (269) 426-8238
E-mail: dunesantiques@qtm.net

DUNES ANTIQUE CENTER INC.
http://www.dunesantiques.com/
http://www.dunesantiques.com/isa.htm


Good luck.

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
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you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

BERRIEN COUNTY MICHIGAN
Source: 'A Twentieth Century History of Berrien County, Michigan ' by Judge 
Orville W. Coolidge, published in 1906 by the Lewis Publishing Company of 
Chicago and New York.
http://www.jansdigs.com/Bios/berrien/spencerbh.txt

DUNES ANTIQUE CENTER INC.
http://www.dunesantiques.com/


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:

SPENCER & BARNES

?SPENCER, BARNES & STUART CO.?

FURNITURE

BENTON HARBOR

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Request for Answer Clarification by scooby30-ga on 19 Sep 2004 20:12 PDT

I had difficulty finding the style of furniture Spencer, Barnes and
Stuart were known for, were they specifically known for manufacuring a
specific style of furniture like Arts and Crafts furniture?  Also, are
there any publications or catalogues that I could purchase or look up
that show pieces available to purchase from Spencer Barnes and Stuart
between 1891 and 1896?

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 20 Sep 2004 04:20 PDT

As for the style of furniture that was made during this brief period,
I cannot say. In fact, what I "was" able to find was rather elusive
and not much seems to be published about this company or its products.
This could actually be something positive in your favor as the rarity
of objects often enhances their desirability and values.

With regard to catalogues that list the 1891-96 furniture, I found
none. Hopefully the professionals in Sawyer, Michigan can shed more
light on this subject (if there is any). If they cannot provide you a
professional appraisal (and I really doubt that will happen) they will
probably know who can. In fact, there may be some major collectors of
this furniture in their area that might be "part" of the reason why so
few of these items are making it to market.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga