Good Questions: Translating Furniture Stamps?

Kate asks for help: I bought a set of four very sturdy blond wood chairs at Brimfield, planning to recover the seats and stain the frames ebony. Before I let loose on them, though, I wanted to make sure they're nothing valuable. The bottoms of a couple of them are stamped "GOOGS WHEAT OLIVE DURAN." I assume the original seat was olive colored and the finish was "wheat" (since it's very wheatish-looking), but GOOGS and DURAN have me stumped...

(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first. Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to: newyork(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)

On a related note, I'm considering using Circa 1850-brand "Stain n' Varnish" instead of staining and varnishing seperately. Does anyone have experience with that product on furniture?

Thank you so much,
Kate

Comments (4)

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posted by Maxwell on September 10th 2008 at 10:37am
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These look like Heywood Wakefield chairs from the 1950s. I would reference one of their books. Wheat was one of their most popular finishes.

As for value, the price of Heywood Wakefield stuff has gone down significantly so I think staining them in ebony is fine. But I think stripping, sanding, staining and finishing is the best way to go for refinishing. I have never found much success in combination finishes. Have you considered getting them professionally painted? It is a surprisingly affordable.

posted by Comicgeek on September 10th 2008 at 11:45am
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Yes, these are Heywood-Wakefield. As Comicgeek said, Wheat was one of their standard finishes.

I think "GOOGS" is actually 60006S, and is probably a lot number. I'm also pretty sure that Duran is the brand of fabric, and that Olive is the color.

They will lose value if you don't have them refinished properly. Refinishing H-W furniture is very tricky, because they used an opaque finish that is almost impossible to replicate. You can read more about H-W restoration here:
http://tri-stateantiques.com/heywood-wakefield/faq.html

There is a DIY kit, but I don't have any personal experience with it:
http://www.werefinish.com/heywood_wakefield_furniture_refi.htm

Also, this site is a good general source of info and photos for H-W stuff:
http://www.springdalefurnishings.com/

posted by Anna at D16 on September 10th 2008 at 12:08pm
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Hey Anna! Fancy meeting you here! Thanks to you and Comicgeek for the H-W tip-off. I had poked through their chair styles and hadn't seen anything with the two bars plus the x, so I figured they were knockoffs. Hmmm! I really don't want them this color, so I have to decide whether to sell or go ahead and refinish them darker despite any value. Anyone in Boston want a set of chairs?

posted by katef on September 11th 2008 at 3:17am
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