Featured Looking for Info on Geyler Furn. Mfg. Co.

I recently acquired two older dressers. They appear to be oak. I'm trying to find out some history on these. They seem to be matched as they both have the same key lock mechanisms and the finishes are the same, but only one of them is marked. The short dresser lists "Geyler Furn. Mfg. Co. Hillsboro Ohio" on the side of the drawers. I would like to know more about the company and the furniture, but have been able to find very little. It appears they were around in the early 1900's and the facility burned in 1933. I don't know if they rebuilt or if that was their end. I've come across a couple other pieces that have sold at auctions, but not much. I've included some pictures. I also have the original mirror that attached to the tall dresser.

Does anybody know any other history on this company, the furniture, etc?

 

Welcome, AMDeere! Given that the wood visible on the dressers looks like quartersawn oak, they are likely from the early 1900's or so. May be veneer, but you should be able to tell by looking at the edges of the drawers.

 

Yes, a lot of the surfaces appear to be veneer. You can see in picture of the short dresser that it is bubbled up. I am planning to remove that and decide what to do from there. I have thought about making an entirely new top for that one. I have 1 inch thick oak here from a drafters table that would work nicely. I haven't yet looked into just replacing it with new veneer.

 

Is it chipped or broken? Looks like it just bubbled. I think there is a way to flatten it back.


@verybrad

 

It isn't broken or chipped. I would imagine that I'd still need to remove it entirely correct? Then heat it up to flatten it out and reglue it?

 

Ah! I missed the evidence on the edges of the top.

@verybrad may have suggestions for how to handle the repairs/replacement.

 

There you go.

 

Actually, Geyler Furniture was a new iteration of Pence & Geyler, which itself had originally been JW Pence Furniture. JW Pence was in business in Hillsboro at least as early as 1888. I didn't find any info about when Geyler joined with Pence.

In 1904, Phil(l)ip Jacob Geyler bought out his partner JW Pence, who retired. Pence died the next year, in 1905.

Geyler himself died only a few years later, in 1911, at the age of 43. His wife died the next year. They left no living children. I didn't find any info about who took over the company at that point.

The Geyler Furniture factory continued to operate on Elm Street in Hillsboro until the fire you mentioned, which destroyed the plant in 1933. According to a local newspaper of the time, dated AUG 21, 1933:

The blaze started, it was reported, when Dan Brumfield washed his hands with benzine, the friction causing the fire. Brumfield was burned severely.

I found no evidence that the factory was ever rebuilt or that it ever operated again under the Geyler name.

If you want to look into it further, I imagine that the local Hillsboro or the Highland County, Ohio historical society might have some additional information.

some info from:
The Furniture Journal, a trade periodical, v.21, 1904
https://books.google.com/books?id=A...Mfg.+Co.+Hillsboro+Ohio&source=gbs_navlinks_s

 

Yeah, I am goin with cluttered on this one. I would wait for Brad to post & see if veneer can be fixed first, that wood under veneer is likely to be pine or poplar & TOTALLY different. A new piece of quarter sawn oak veneer that's big enough to cover top will likely cost more than you paid for your chest & more than the chest is worth.

 

In the meantime, check out this video that gives you an idea of what you are getting into with repairing/replacing veneer on a similar age piece.

 

Hi James,
I have always had luck in heating the area with a hair dyer and then cover with a sheet of wax paper and putting a lot of books (for weight) and letting it sit for several hours. Some I had to slit a very tiny piece off and then heat the area, when flat I filled in the tiny crack with bees wax and then rewaxed.
greg

 

Not sure exactly what's up with that chicken at the end, is that dinner or a buddy of his?

 

Hey Greg, yeah, repairing or even replacing is not hard work but is tedious & fairly precise. And yes, if it's not real bad, just reheating and pressure can work. I've always been to lazy to mess with this sort of thing, i call the restorer and basically say, i want this, that and the other thing, when is it gonna be ready?
Works like a charm, EVERY TIME!

 

From what I can see, the veneer is raised in multiple places throughout the top. Consequently, it will be very tedious to try and repair this. In general, what you need to do is slice each bubble, inject glue and weight to clamp. This usually involves removing a small sliver of wood to get it to lay flat, as the veneer has expanded. It might just be less work to replace the veneer on the entire top. You won't be able to get the original veneer off in a single sheet and re-use it. Even if you could, it will never lay flat again. A new sheet of quartersawn veneer can get expensive, as James suggested.

In a lot of these cases, people often just replace the entire top with solid wood. It won't look the same as the original but is a lot easier to do, particularly if you have an old table top that can be cut to fit. This is problematic in this case since you have two pieces that you would want to match. Good luck in what ever course of action you decide.

 

AWESOME VIDEO, James!!! He put a whole bucketload of work into that chest of drawers!!!!!

 

LOL, Hell Yeah he did! Far more than the chest was worth but you know, money isn't everything!

 

Thanks for the insight. I did look into what a sheet of veneer would cost and it looks like it'd be around $125 for a wood veneer with adhesive, a little less without. I'm not looking to resell these or anything. These were my grandmother's and I'd like to use them. Aside from the veneer issue on the one, both dressers could use a few new drawer bottoms, but other than that they're in pretty good shape.

I need to check and see what I have for solid wood to use for tops. I just might have enough to do both dressers. Here's a pic of a stool I made about 5 years ago from the same wood.

 

Very nice.
You obviously have experience with wood and know what you are getting yourself into.

When you get the dresser finished be sure to update this post with a picture for us to see your handy work.

 

I probably have just enough experience to be dangerous.

I would like to do more woodwork, it always seems to be on the back burner though. I'd like to get these dressers straitened out so I can use them. I will definitely update the thread.