The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-15
GREAT BRITAIN'S
 FURNITURE MARKET A Market Open for Ameri- Producers of Accept
 able Articles.
TIMELY SUGGESTIONS.
A British Prejudice Against Output of American
 Furniture Trade.

prOHtdply eAplOlleu Dy AIneTlcdH IldH- ufacturers if they will cultivate it as assiduously as they now strive for bus iless in the domestic field. MT. Whit tam contribute the following trade sug- gestions:
 ITO achieve prosperous issue our furniture makers must not only meet competition in prices; they must also supply the styles and designs which are fahionable and pay attention to the de- tails of finish and stability, which are the idiosyncrasies of the British pur- chaser. This is an old story repeated and reiterated about every conceivable sort of merchandise by special agents, consuls, and other commercial repre- sentatives of the United States in for eign countries. Nevertheless it is a les son which our industrial managers must learn before the good fortune in foreign trade many of them wish for car ever be theirs. A few in varied lines of work have carefully followed the foregoing advice, and their success has been amazing to themselves.
 Tt is first important that the Amer ican furniture trade should know that there exists a strong prejudice against their output, and 1t is equally neces- sary that the trade apprehend the un- deriving reasons for this impairment of reputation. A large dealer told me very sfrankly that although we turn out su- perior shapes and designs, the wood from which our furniture Is made is seldom properly seasoned to stand the peculiar climate an comparatively crude interior household heating ar engagements of Britain. To substantiate lis contention he showed me an Amer can roll-top desk which had warped so badly that some drawers and other parts were falling to pieces, while oth- CT drawers were stuck so tight that 1t was impossible to open them; and l was told that the use of unseasoned stuff was responsible for the trade in desks and office furniture, once abso- lutely controlled by American firms be- ing now largely in the hands Of Brit ish manufacturers.
 q was also shown an American made oak armchair which, as the dealer expressed 1t, was a work of art so far as shape and comfort went, showing years of study to obtain ease; but he added, before I could get a sample fit to submit to one of the largest municipal bodies in the coun- try I had to send for four chairs. The only complaint he had to make was f that the joints of the several parts were left rough and poorly Finished, i glue and rough edges being exposed l and merely vanished over He said l that these defects, though scarcely mo- 1 ticeable. rendered high-grade furniture 1 almost unstable in his market The contract for several thousand chairs he secured from the American-made sam I ple he submitted, but, being fraid ot 1 rejection on account of his experience 1 in obtaining a passable sample, he ln- .dueed an English firm to undertake the manufacture of the lot. examined one of the rejected samples and can voucn 1 for the conservativeness of the state- ments made to me. So much for the causes of existing prejudice,
 1 .I found that little quartered oak is used except in very heavy furniture, and that in finish golden oak and dark finishes and woods are the vogue just now sideboards, buffets, and wood bedsteads in greatest demand are alto gether different in design from those nonular in the United States, although since my return from abroad 1 notice l ,n inc stores of dealers in high-class furniture here many articles closely ap' nroaching the newest styles in Britain
 "Antiaue patterns and finishes are inc readiest sellers, and sideboards are
 much sought after. Dealers, l was in- formed. object to the bother of putting tceether knocked down furniture. This nIan. however, cannot well be dis nensed with, on account of excessive freiaht charges on 'set-up articles Tactful exclamation of the economy of adberlne to this practice would soon overcome the scruples of the dealers on this score. Another feature which was i,r pressed upon me was that upholster- ad and covered articles of furniture should be shipped bare-i e., without the plush, leather, or other covering for +he reason that such materials cost r,,,or, less in England than in the Unit ell states, and that the work Of putting inc material on can be done consider ably cheaper abroad.
 CT also found that there exists a splendid opening for the sale Of cheap chairs for use in the living rooms of ortisan's cottages. Judging from prices l and stvles of the office chairs l saw ovr,osed for sale in England, Scotland and Ireland, I am satisfied that Amer ican makers of such goods could devel- on considerable business in this line 1 and there is also a fertile field all over 1 rreat Britain and continental Europe fo- the introduction of the American harber's chair By comparison the chail now used abroad for this purpose is crnde and uncomfortable, Our product can be sold, but continuously applied effort must be brought to bear to popu- larize them.
 Comparatively few European houses
 are built with closets for clothes con- seouently nearly every householder buys one or more wardrobes. This ar
 tiole of furniture is little known in the United States, yet our furniture manu- lecturers could undoubtedly find a fielC
 for profitable exploitation in this pc. culiarly European commodity"