Hi there, and thanks for your question.
There is surprisingly little information available on the Loomis and
Hart Furniture Company. Some of the best information regarding its
history comes, in fact, from a family history for the Arnold family
during the period when James Townsend Arnold was in Chattanooga. The
link for that history (also provided by ephraim-ga in the Comments
below) is:
http://members.tripod.com/clipclop/ref/arnoldhist2/chattanooga.html
The relevant section is about a third of the way down the page, and in
a nutshell, it says that the Loomis and Hart company was founded in
Chattanooga in 1869, originally as a sawmill with a small furniture
company added onto it to use up scrap wood. As such, the furniture
was apparently quite cheaply made.
Evidently, in 1912 the whole place burned down, and out of the ashes,
three separate companies were formed: Loomis & Hart Mfg. Co.,
retaining the saw-mill and lumber business, A.G. Stivers Lumber Co.,
taking the South Chattanooga planing mill, and Loomis & Hart Furniture
Co., operating the furniture manufacturing business. I cannot find
conclusively how long that furniture company was in operation, but the
history continues until at least 1918 with the furniture company being
headed up by one Gaston Raoul. The company is certainly no longer in
existence.
I cannot seem to turn up any biographical information on J.F. Loomis,
but here is a brief bio of John Hart, one of the founders of Loomis
and Hart:
http://www.hctgs.org/Biographies/bio_hart_john.htm
In terms of identifying your chest, there are numerous references for
American antiques, both online and in print. Some online resources
are:
"19th and 20th Century American Furniture", Farm River Antiques
http://www.farmriver.com/furn.htm
"A Primer on Fine American Antique Furniture", About.com
http://antiques.about.com/library/weekly/aa083101.htm
Two printed references, available through Amazon.com, are:
"Field Guide to American Antique Furniture/a Unique Visual System for
Identifying the Style of Virtually Any Piece of American Antique
Furniture", by Joseph Butler and Ray Skibinski
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805001247/102-3210983-8928125
"Antique Trader Furniture Price Guide", by Mark Moran and Kyle
Husfloen
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0873492250/102-3210983-8928125
The latter reference may help you price out your piece. I should
mention that I have not come across a single reference that listed
Loomis and Hart as a "premier" antique name. Also, while I could not
find any pieces of Loomis and Hart furniture for sale at the usual
online places, to give you comparative pricing, I found several
antique dealers in the Chattanooga area that might give you some more
information:
"Antique Stores in Chattanooga, Tennessee"
http://www.antiqueinfo.com/states/tennessee/chattanooga.htm
Finally, if you are interested in refinishing your piece, I came
across this site which seemed to have a number of helpful links:
"Guide Picks on Furniture Care", on About.com
http://antiques.about.com/cs/furniturecare/index.htm
Search strategy:
"Loomis and Hart"
"Loomis & Hart"
"Chattanooga history"
"American antique furniture"
"furniture refinishing"
I sincerely hope this information has been helpful. |
