1929 RARE BERKEY & GAY FURNITURE Co STYLE BOOK ANTIQUE RETAIL DEALER SALES TOOL

Description

00 off original opening bid. I will accept offers.
It took me a long time to list this item. I have searched for another one for 20 plus years, to try and determine the value. I've only found four others in existence. One is in the Smithsonian, one is in a museum in Michigan, one in a Michigan library, and one belongs to an Independent owner.
So this may be one of only five left in existence.
This is the 1929 BERKEY & GAY STYLE BOOK.  This book did not get sent to individual homes, nor is it an advertising pamphlet.
THIS CATALOG WAS ONLY DISTRIBUTED TO BERKEY & GAY FURNITURE DEALERS.
You had to have a furniture store in order to get this particular book.
The store owner or the furniture salesman could then go from home to home, where it was utilized as a selling tool. Otherwise you had to go to the furniture store itself, in order to view this book and select your purchase, which would then be ordered from the factory in Michigan.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK SO RARE. YOU HAD TO BE AN ACTUAL FURNITURE DEALER TO OBTAIN ONE, AND WITH MANY FIRES AND OTHER CATASTROPHES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, MANY OF THESE BOOKS DID NOT MAKE IT, AS THIS ONE ALMOST DID NOT.
My grandfather's brother owned a furniture store, here in Virginia, between Richmond and Williamsburg. My dad's brother eventually purchased the store from his uncle.
The catalog somehow made its way into a furniture Warehouse, owned by my uncle.
It was "rediscovered" in 1969, after hurricane Camille peeled the roof off of that particular warehouse. I was 3.
My dad, of course, helped his brother in the cleanup efforts and this book ended up at our house. It was wrapped tucked away, where it survived. It has been in a climate controlled environment since 1969. In 2000, it was placed in a safe in the parents gift shop, and now here we are. The early 2000's would be when I began to search for a value. It is about 5 years shy of a century in age. (So she has the scent of a 100 year old book, ok? 😁) She just smells old, and it's not strong... I'm just explaining a characteristic that cannot be known by looking at photos. Everything else is intact. It's not even flimsy or brittle... It's actually a very high quality and well made book. (Printed by A. P. Johnson Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.)
This book, at the time, was considered to be a new and innovative sales tool.
The catalog section has 293 pages of furniture, as well as pages of index and sales information.
And might be worth way more than what I have started with, being that it's probably one of five or four... In known existence, right now. Only a limited group of people had access to them, and then the percentage of them that actually survived fire or other fiascos, well ... it feels pretty low to me since I've been looking for other books like this for almost 20 years. Or could be worth way less, if no one wants it. If you happen to be somebody who wants it, please feel free to message me and/or wager. I will be more than happy to provide more photos or answer any questions that you may have. Or just bid, if it's fair. The shipping is so high, because it will be insured. I'll be more than happy to refund any excess in shipping.
It's been somewhere in my family for 95 years. I would love to keep it, but Bill and all of his friends came by and demanded that I pay them. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
It is 16 1/4" in length, 12" in width, and 1 1/4" thick.
Both the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Grand Rapids Public Library have large collections of advertising pieces and company histories as well and trade catalogs from Berkey & Gay.
THANK YOU FOR LOOKING 🙂