I had been looking for an office chair for my desk for sometime, just couldn't find the right one. I had a temporary one so I wasn't in a rush.
I stopped by a thrift store just outside of Boston not expecting to find anything. These 2 side chairs caught my eye, I could tell right away they were made really well and had a vintage feel to them. They were 9.99 each so without even sitting in one, I bought them.After I had them home I discovered they were Gunlocke chairs, an office furniture company, thats been around since 1902. I had specified Gunlocke when I was exclusively doing commercial interior design. I photographed the labels all still attached to the underside and sent them to Gunlocke so I could find out more information.
The style chair I had was made in the mid 1970's to mid 1980's. They were solid walnut, black vinyl. The list price in 1984 was $400- $500 each (depending on the upholstery). The year of mine was 1977.
I spent sometime cleaning the wood with 0000 grade steel wool and Jo-jo hand cleaner (non-pumice) both from the hardware store. The wood came out beautiful. It removed spills/ stains and brought it to its original luster.
I cleaned the upholstery with a vinyl cleaner. There is one small hole in the upholstery I wouldn't know how to repair. But I very happy with how they look.
They are extremely strong and I'm sure will last many more years.
A bit of History of Gunlocke Furniture Company, from their site :
1900s
The Beginning
Image: Earliest existing photograph of factory exterior.
1902: William H. Gunlocke and four other wood furniture experts acquire a vacant factory in Wayland, New York. They establish the W. H. Gunlocke Chair Company, which initially specializes in seating for homes, libraries and lounges.
1920s
First National Contract
Image: A sell sheet featuring some of the latest Gunlocke Products..
1920: Gunlocke was awarded its first National Contract with Western Electric. Due to this contract, demand for Gunlocke’s office seating was so strong that the company discontinues its household furniture to concentrate on manufacturing for the corporate market.
1940s
Manufacturing Advances
Image: photo of Bank of England chairs in production.
During the war years, most of Gunlocke’s output is for government and military facilities.
Assembly-line manufacturing techniques are implemented to produce high quality seating in unprecedented quantities.
1950s
First Showroom
Image: 1950s chair sales truck.
In the booming postwar period, Gunlocke establishes a factory showroom for the southwest states in Dallas, Texas.
