We enjoy hearing from you and sharing with you the interesting pieces that were built by The Sikes Chair Company.

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Do you want to know the value of your Sikes Furniture?  Click here.
A few years back, a cross-country truck driver asked me to do some work on his family's GWTW lamp, needing art work,etc. At the time, he lived in the Syracuse, NY area. He mentioned most of his possessions were items from California.

He was very pleased with results on his lamp and wanted me to buy some chairs (one was apart in a box) making 6 side chairs and one arm chair.  Luckily, he chased me over a year to purchase, which we ended up doing same.  The chairs at the time had a very worn leather seat, which I intended to replace.  Each chair - lower inside square framing of each seat area has stamped into wood "H. Mussel" - assume this is name of carver?

Upon removing, I realized original chairs had caned seats, which I replaced.  These chairs have never been refinished, which made them very very nice. I believe these chairs date to around the turn of the century and love and enjoy them every minute. 

Sharry & John,  Syracuse, NY
jcymbryla@yahoo.com


I have had this "Sikes" chair for a few months & decided to do some research.  I came across your family website & found it very interesting!!  All of the photos are of chairs from the 1900s-1940s.  Would love to add my chair to the albums.   The tag is dated February, 1965.  It has very clean 1960s styling; walnut with naugahyde fabric. Anyone with information on other 1960s "Sikes" chairs, please contact me.  stevep3@prodigy.net

Thank You, Steve Perlow



(Image from Chair Page 1)

I was so very excited to find this website!! I found this exact chair in the garbage in my
neighborhood. It was filthy, and obviously stored for many years in a garage. My dad was helping me take apart the chair to clean it and to see how the metal mechanism worked on the chair, when we discovered that on the metal plate that connects to the pole was taken apart, the metal "washer" had stamped on it "december 17th, 1918"!! you would not be able to see this date unless you disassembled the chair mechanism. the beautiful metal SIKES circular emblem is on the back of the chair base. I absolutely love this chair, and you can tell that it was so well made.

We are putting it back together now, nice and clean and working well!!!

Tammy Reynolds
Bloomfield, N.J. 07003
treynolds1966@aol.com


Having spent countless hours doing genealogical research sitting on my wooden office chair, I finally turned it over one day to oil it and found the Sikes label.  It was really great to find your web site.  I hope start my own web site soon and would be happy if it was just as nice as yours. 

My ancestors immigrated to Philadelphia (or what was to become Philadelphia) in the early 1600's.

Anyway, I wanted to contribute to the furniture page so here are a few pictures of my favorite chair.  Bought it on E-bay from a gentleman in Burlington, NJ.  I would imagine it spent its life here in the Delaware Valley.

Kyle Mason, Medford, NJ   rxdrug@krmason.com



Please find a picture of Sikes Desk which was in home my wife and I purchased in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The home was built by a couple from Buffalo N.Y. opposite Fort Erie.   We were told it is called a Partners Desk. The Drawers on one side only are made to open. The stamp in drawer reads Sikes Buffalo est.1859 A product of Master Craftsmen. 
Carmen and Anna Tartaglia
Niagara Falls Canada.
ctar@sympatico.ca



I have 2 of these chairs in my basement. The label on the chair says Sikes Chairs/Buffalo Branch. The seats of the chairs are leather with decorative tacks all around.  I feel that they are over 60 yrs old, maybe older.  Can you tell me anthing about them?
Thanks,
Guy D'Ambrosio from Waterbury Ct
gardenerman@sbcglobal.net




Hi There!  This is a picture of a Sikes chair that I recently restored.  It was in my great grandfather’s then my grandfather's office for a number of years.  I spent about 100 hours restoring it and am very happy to have it in my room.  It is close to completion but not perfect.  It still needs 1/4 round pieces attached at the angles formed by the legs of the chair.

Thanks,
Bruce Schaller
bruce.schaller@gmail.com



Thanks for putting your web site together since this is the only way I could locate information about my chair. 

As you can see from the photos, I have a lovely desk chair that I purchased from a flea market in New Jersey several years ago.  My chair is in excellent condition, however, I'm trying to figure out how to come up with a value for it ... any suggestions?  

The photos I've attached show a printed number of some sort on the bottom of the chair.  Another photo shows the Sikes Furniture Logo with Philadelphia under the Sikes name ... also in that area is another logo "Joseph & not legible" with the Sikes logo placed on top of that.

I appreciate your time and I'm hoping you can guide me accordingly.

THANKS!
Donna Poole, Raleigh, NC
pooledonna@aol.com



Hello,  I just bought and refinished this five dining room chairs. As I was tearing off the old upholstery (green) I found a "Sikes Chair Company: Buffalo Branch 1376. Buffalo, NY".  I then googled "Sikes Furniture" and found your website, where I found these e-mail addresses.

I bought the chairs 3 weeks ago at a garage sale in Clarence, NY (suburb of Buffalo) for only $60!!!  They appeared to be in their original condition (original fabric, finish, etc.).  I stripped the finish, put on two fresh coats of polyurethane and reupholstered the seats.  The chairs are very sturdy, and feel very solid when you sit on them.  The joints are all strong, the chairs don't creak at all.  They appear to have been very well made.

When I tore the old upholstry off, I found that there was interwoven webbing first, then a layer of woven stray like material, then a layer of ripped up paper-like stuffing, then a layer of think cotton-like badding, a layer of linen, and then the upholstry fabric on top.

These chairs appear to made of mahogany wood.  I looked through the pictures on the website, and didn't see any mahogany pieces - or dining sets.  I don't know if I have the full set here or not.
I hope these pictures and explanation is of use to you.  If you have any questions, let me know.

Andrea Hoy
itylnwmn@yahoo.com



My father died at a young age; my mother married again late in life.  This chest belonged to her second husband, it was left to me when she died.  He lived in and around Richmond Virginia, before and after his WWII service in Northern France.  I don’t know if he inherited it from his mother or if it was one of his purchases.

 It is well made, all the joints are tight, the drawers still operate with ease.  There are no splits in the wood. The top is in pristine condition, as it has always been protected with a (suspended) sheet of glass.  It is approximately 38” wide.  Inside, full dividers are between the drawers.

  I didn’t see on among your photo collection, thought you might want to add these.  The photo named “Sikes hardware mark,” is the back of one of the drawer pulls.  (photos attached, higher resolution files are available)

Regards.
Virginia Handy
jashandy@verizon.net 

 





I have this chair and am restoring it.  I have a some questions concerning the chair.
 
1. What is the wood, is it Oak or Ash?

2. What is the original seat material.  Is it leather or something else?  The seat underneath has 4 springs that support a burlap cushioning material.  I've remove d the staining which appeared to be a walnut or dark stain covered by some sort of shelac or urethane.

3. Also, I have to either buy a replacement or make a back top as one of the dog ears, as I call them is broken off.

Can you be of any assistance in the information needed?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sincerely,
Melvin E. Vogt   mlnnv@mchsi.com



We found 2 Sikes chairs at the flea market in St Augustine, FL.   No history with them.
We love the chairs and found your web site.  Thought you could add this to your collection of chairs.
Elaine & Adam Machala
svbeaujolais@hotmail.com




I just acquired a set of 6 Sikes Chairs.  They were found in an antique shop in Canajoharie NY. (2009)  The label on the bottom of each chair reads:  Sikes Chair, 1016, Buffalo Branch, Buffalo NY.  They are caned. Might caning be original to these chairs?
Betty Negus, Ames NY
neguse@frontiernet.net

I recently was at my local thrift store, I do mosaic art and was looking for a chair with some character, in the back of the store I noticed a old wooden dining room chair standing alone, I immediately loved it!  Though it needs to be redone and the seat area is missing I just had too have it. In my curiosity I stared looking around for some clues on the chair of when it may have been made, underneath the chair there is a label that states Sikes furniture, Buffalo, Ny #1033.  I have gone too the Sikes website and have seen similar chairs but not the chair I purchased for $3.99  I am curious of to when the chair may have been made? Any info would be appreciated.
 Mary Jo H
mjh5310@yahoo.com

    It is a small office chair, with an EXTREMELY heavy, solid cast iron contraption, which makes it 'swivel'. 
    My aunt was born aprx. 1920.  Her father was a vet in Ohio.  No doubt the chair was for use in his office. This chair was so heavy I turned it over, knowing I'd find a name or something and saw, "The Sikes Co PA" on the metal base.
    It has a coat of brown paint and I intend to refinish it and imagine it's oak.  It's very charming and I remember as a child swinging on it until I was dizzy.
    I'm so glad to find information about Sikes.
R.L. Rogers  winterun@msn.com

 

To whom it may concern,  I have an armchair with the markings of SikeS, Established 1859, A Product of Master Craftmen.  It is in excellent condition.  It looks light a court or library chair.  I have had it for 19 or 20 yrs; it is very sturdy and very comfortable to sit in.

From the information that I am sending you, could you kindly tell me about when it was made. 
My brother who live in Orange,NJ. would go to a second hand store in New York city to purchase “Quality Furniture” (his words). One of which was this chair.

Thank you very much
Mrs Bergland-Brown
Martinique271@webtv.net  

See Note Below

I have a rocking chair from the Sykes Chair Co. Buffalo N.Y. with original label on bottom of seat.  It has been in my family for over 100 years.  I believe my great aunt had it in a boarding
house in Lancaster, PA.  The pattern is #1318.
 
I would like to know the value and should I insure it.  Thank you for you consideration,
 
Kay Walsh
kaywalsh1228@verizon.net

For anyone with questions about insuring your Sikes furniture -- we suggest you contact a professional who deals with antique furniture every day to have your piece examined and evaluated.   Only you can determine whether or not you want to insure an item.  If you view your item(s) only as a possession which might bring you some cash should it be destroyed by an act of God (fire, flood, tornado, etc.)  then by all means, insure it.  For the vast majority of people who have sent us photographs and shared their stories about the chairs and other furniture, the value is 100 percent sentimental.   If your chair is valuable to you because it once belonged to a family member, placing an insurance value on it will not allow you to replace it in the event of loss.

You can order keys from several companies like Van Dykes.  You need to measure the pin diameter and the length of the slot as well.  That will get you the right  size.  Or head to a local Antique mall and hunt down some old keys.   If all else fails, remove the back panel of the piece, if possible, and the unscrew the lock and then head to the lock smith for a proper key.  Hopefully this helps.
 
Dean Adams    
dadams2@lowcountry.com


A good friend of mine just inherited some very nice Sikes pieces.  One is a dining table that folds, drops and has numerous leaves marked #9253 Sikes along with four chairs from Sikes #985 1/2.  We are interested in learning more about these pieces and any help you can give would be appreciated.
 
She will take photos shortly and will upload to the website.
 
Thank you,
Brenda Sturges
sturgesb@bellsouth.net


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