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July, 2018 The Antique Shoppe Page 31
But the coil springs eventually rubbed against each other and wore eight locations around the top rim of the spring. As long as the lower
through the single twine strand holding them together. Then the limp support of jute webbing holds up and the twine tying the springs stays
coils went as they may and the seating became very lumpy with a hard intact the springs will stay upright and work in unison with each other.
edge. The mid 19th century saw major advances both technically and But installing springs one by one in a couch or chair frame can be time
intellectually. New deposits of iron ore were discovered around the Great
Main St consuming and expensive. Enter more technology. Just after the turn of
Lakes and iron became more plentiful and cheaper. The smelting of iron the 20th century spring manufacturers introduced the “factory seat unit.”
ore into steel using less carbon produced a more flexible steel wire that The unit consisted of a stiff wire or flat metal frame filled with early coil
could be transformed into coil springs. The intellectual advance came on springs connected to each other with wire. And the units, for the sake of
two fronts. First it was discovered that the coil spring could be made much cost, went back to the old tapered coil design. Initially developed for the
stronger and stable using a biconical hour glass shape instead of a simple auto industry the factory seat unit quickly spread to the furniture industry
Exit
50
220
tapered coil. The other mental stretch was the evolution of a method to tie and was especially welcomed by those newer manufacturers who did not
406
the springs together using heavier twine with multiple knots in different have a deep background in upholstery techniques or experience. Among
405
laces on the springs. That became the famous “eight way tie” still in use those were the chair factories in the Mid West and such firms as L. & J. G.
today. Each spring is tied to the frame or to other springs with knots at Stickley whose background was woodworking.
The factory seat unit served
its purpose in the early century
but by the 1920s tastes turned
50
back to the custom work of spring
1 installation. But the factory seat
405 unit evolved and came back into
407 TITUSVILLE popularity as the “Marshall unit”
a smaller, better designed self
contained spring unit that could be
TITUSVILLE sewn into a cover and incorporated
Bay Blvd into a cushion, thus making the
MELBOURNE cushion a spring unit of its own.
A great many of the upholstered
GRANT - SEBASTIAN pieces of the Depression era of the
late 1920s and 1930s, especially
VERO BEACH 5 those with multiple cushions,
528
were made comfortable on second
quality frames and supports using
Marshall units inside the cushions.
COCOA
520 Forrest Ave. All of this of course was before
We Buy Florida Ave. the invention of foam rubber when
softness and comfort depended a
& Sell 2 great deal on craftsmanship and
construction. When you have time
518 turn over one of your upholstered
Sarno Rd. pieces, remove the cambric (the
Wickham Rd. MELBOURNE dust cover) and see how your piece
is made. It’s worth the effort but
Hibiscus Ave.
192 don’t be shocked by flat horizontal
zig zag springs or tensioned rubber
Babcock St. straps instead of biconical coil
springs. That’s just more progress.
Palm Bay Rd.
Send your comments, questions and pictures
507 1 to me at PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or
Over 18,000 sq.ft. of the finest quality Antiques, Furniture, Malabar Rd. email me at info@furnituredetective.com
Vintage Glass & Art Pottery that Central Florida has to offer Visit Fred’s website www.furnituredetective.com
Valkaria Rd. and check out the downloadable “Common
Plus The Largest selection of: GRANT Sense Antiques” columns in .pdf format. His
Grant Rd. 4 book “HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE” is
Official Florida Highwaymen Art ANYWHERE SEBASTIAN 5 now available for $18.95 plus $3.00 shipping.
512 Sebastian Blvd. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred
Brevard’s largest mall for over 20 years VERO BEACH Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423
Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, “IDENTIFICATION
60 20th St. 6 OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE”, ($17.00
Glendale Rd.
Phone: 321.726.6778 • 5900 U.S. Hwy. 1•Grant, FL 1 + $3.00 S&H) are also available at the same
On Florida’s Scenic East Coast - Between Sebastian & Melbourne 68 615 address. For more information call (800) 387-
Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm • Sunday 12-5pm 1 6377 (9AM-4PM Eastern, M-F only), fax 352-
grantantiquemall@reagan.com • GrantAntiqueMall.com 70 Virginia 563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.
com. All items are also available directly from
4 95 95 FT. PIERCE the website, www.furnituredetective.com
716
1 1
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