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Architects Drafting Shop Chair Stool - Toledo Metal Furniture UHL – Or - $300 (Farmington Hills)
11 MILE RD near Orchard Lake
condition:
good
make / manufacturer:
Toledo Metal Furniture
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Classic early industrial chair/stool made by the Toledo Metal Furniture Co. (not signed or labeled but design is a visual match).
Fully adjustable seat and backrest, from 25" - 30" seat height. Made in the USA, very sturdy and adjusts as originally designed.
Original ‘gunmetal’ grey painted steel frame base with bent maple ply swivel seats and backs. The footrest is 17” diameter at 10” height. Substantial rubber feet have considerable age, may be original, showing cracks but appear stable.
Vintage, for sure, based on the source and family testimony chair likely dates to the 1930’s – 40’s.
Dimensions: Height: 40 in (101.6 cm) Width: 18 in (45.72 cm) Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
Background - Provenance
Obtained directly from the family of the original owner. He was an architect, and according to the family, knew and socialized with noted Detroit architects such as Minoru Yamasaki and attended the funeral of Frank Lloyd Wright (in 1959).
Toledo Metal Furniture Company – background from the web
The roots of Toledo Metal Furniture Company can be traced back to Uhl's Cycle Emporium, a bicycle repair shop founded by Clement R. and Philip Edward Uhl on March 1, 1898. Its first location was a 20 ft sq. frame office in 1897 on the corner of Monroe and Eleventh Streets in Downtown Toledo where it was subsequently expanded by another 20x50 ft addition in 1898 and later in 1899 and 1900.
The growth of the automobile industry steered the manufacturing focus away from the bicycles and towards automobiles, causing bicycle business to drop and moving the company towards metal furniture. The rising popularity of ice cream parlors and more ergonomic drafting stools has counterweighed the waning popularity of bicycles. Their first furniture order was for the soda fountain and ice cream parlors by Hoffman & Company on Summit. Later, Toledo Metal Furniture produced the tables for Edison Phonograph Works. Their products also included school desks, which they produced by the thousands.
Toledo Metal Furniture Company (1904-1976)
After moving to 25 South Huron Street (between Washington and Layette Streets), the company name changed in 1904 to Toledo Metal Furniture Company with Philip E. Uhl as president, Joseph F. L. Uhl as secretary and general manager; and Clement R. Uhl, vice president and superintendent.
One of the early patents was for a ‘Revolving Metal Chair’ and was credited to Joseph Uhl: Patent No. 782,932 dated February 21, 1905 (Source: United States Patent Office, Google Patents). This predecessor was for a stool, lacking the back support.
Condition
Original, complete and as-found. Solid and fully functional. Paint / patina on the frame is original with appropriate distressed wear. Plywood with original finish / patina; seat with 2 sections of the top ply missing.
A rescue from an estate in metro Detroit Michigan...
062025