1891-1920 North American Bent Chair Company Limited chair

North American Bent Chair Company Limited This chair is over 100 years old. If only it could talk! I have 2 of them. $50 each. A great conversation piece and addition to any room. Company info Founded in 1892 Closed in 1945 Nationality Canadian Manufacturer Occupation Furniture Manufacturer: Bentwood Chairs, Plain and Fancy Chairs, Reed Furniture Notes The North American Bent Chair Co. was established in Owen Sound, Ontario in 1892 by two brothers, the Messrs. Hay (formerly of Woodstock, Ontario). They were John G. Hay and Archibald B. Hay, sons of James Hay, a Woodstock furniture factory owner. By 1894, the company was considered one of the Empire's biggest furniture producers and was exporting chairs across the Dominion of Canada and to other countries (England, Australia, New Zealand and South America). At that time, steam bent cane chairs and perforated cane seat chairs were their line. In 1899, the factory building burnt down. The company re-built and continued producing furniture, usually dining room furniture, library furniture and living room items. A book about Ontario furniture makers, the CANADIAN BOOK OF FURNITURE (1923) has a couple pages illustrating North American Bent Chair products, and at that time they were making some Windsor-style kitchen chairs, and also were making some reed furniture. The company was situated along 1st Ave. West and 14th St. West. The company ceased in 1945, and the building was sold to the RCA Victor Company. The factory building was torn down in 1980. The factories in Owen Sound had male baseball teams, and the North American Bent Chair factory did as well, starting in ____. Melba Morris Croft's book, Growth of a County Town: Owen Sound 1900 to 1920, p. 82, transcribes a 1906 mention of the North American Bent Chair Co. Limited: "NORTH AMERICAN BENT CHAIR CO. LTD. Owns and operates at Owen Sound, the largest chair factory under the British flag, and was established 15 years ago. Situated on the west side [of town], the firm employs 400 workmen, plus a large sales staff throughout the Dominion. Export trade includes Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, South Africa, S. America, Cuba and Great Britain. The company was the first Canadian concern to engage in the exportation of furniture." Some of the employees of company were: George Henry Pilch, W. H. Boomer (c. 1928 was Engineer there), and _________ Fred Boomer moved to Owen Sound in 1908 at the age of 13 and boarded in town. When he started working at the factory, he earned five cents an hour, and worked a normal ten-hour day. Room and board in town cost $1.50. A former employee of the North American Bent Chair company had told museum staffperson Viola C. Bothwell long ago that there was a period of time when the company did not label its bentwood chairs, probably starting in 1905? The striped bent chair logo paper oval label has been seen on a 1920s dated item. Messrs. John and Archibald Hay (who were brothers) came of a furniture-making family in Woodstock, Ontario and moved to Owen Sound in 1891/1892. They began the furniture-making plant known as the North American Bent Chair Co., which was located on what is now known as 1st Avenue and 14th St. West, Owen Sound. It was the first factory in Canada to develop the bentwood chair, made by a process in which the wood was heated by steam and then bent to the desired shape. This process had first been developed in 1845 in Austria. John G. Hay was Co-Founder, and President of the company from its establishment in 1892 until his retirement in 1934. The North American Bent Chair Co. chairs were exported all over Canada, and also to England, Australia, New Zealand and South America. Mr. Merritt Hay was a partner in the North American Bent Chair Co. In a 1932 directory, J. Merritt Hay and Lillian Hay resided at 846 2nd Ave. West. He was Vice-President of the company, while John G. Hay was Honourary President and W. Grey Hay was President. Publications THE CANADIAN BOOK OF FURNITURE, Acton Publishing Co., 1923