Posted 3 years ago
kieslinglisa
(1 item)
Not sure. Hoping for some help. when I got it home and started looking at it closely my husband and I realized that this was a really nice piece we believe it to be mahogany and it's just in fantastic condition we are happy to have found her and brought her home
Hi, kieslinglisa. :-)
That is indeed a beautiful piece of furniture. It's difficult to believe that somebody would just leave it out on the sidewalk, but the sad truth is probably that the owners/inheritors either didn't have room for it, or didn't want it because it wasn't to their taste.
Tastes change over time, and young people tend to look at something like that, and say, "Brown. Ugh."
Their loss, your gain.
Somebody else here at CW posted some beautiful Angelus Furniture pieces about five years ago:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/193952-angelus-furniture-manufacturing-co
There's still a Facebook page for Angelus Furniture:
https://www.facebook.com/Angelus-Furniture-596455357066866
I found some locations in yellowpages dot com:
https://www.yellowpages.com/los-angeles-ca/angelus-furniture-outlet-inc
And more information here:
*snip*
ANGELUS FURNITURE OUTLET INC is a business registered with the Office of Finance, City of Los Angeles. The doing business as (DBA) name is ANGELUS FURNITURE OUTLET. The business activity is furniture stores. The business operates in 12622 Monarch Street, Garden Grove, CA 92841-3919. This business location starts on August 1, 1974.
*snip*
https://opendatalacity.com/business/0000298774-0001-6
However, when I went to look at the locations in Google Satellite/Street View, the Angelus name was nowhere in sight. They seem like they might have been bought out by Thomasville (based on what I see in Street View history).
Here is a brief history of Angelus Furniture:
*snip*
In 1901 Harry Siskin opened his furniture operation under the name of Angelus Furniture. It started as a manufacturer of fine furniture and continued to do so through the 50’s. In the early 60’s Harry added retailing, and Angelus would become one of the premiere supplier of furniture in all of Los Angeles. He was joined by his grandson, Irwin Greenberg, who continues to be President of the company today.
Angelus Furniture Manufacturing Company became an institution in Los Angeles, offering high quality furniture that has lasted for many generations. Even today, many Los Angeles families have a dining room or bedroom piece with the name “Angelus” engraved on it.
*snip*
https://earlycal.com/products/angelus-furniture-granada-line-side-table-coffee-table-1920s
Here is an in-depth piece about Angelus Furniture by heir Irwin Greenberg in JAN. 22, 1995 (FYI, you can't view this article in private mode):
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-22-ci-22818-story.html
The name Angelus Grand Plaza survives as a location in LA:
Angelus Grand Plaza
3654 E Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90023
https://goo.gl/maps/2iZRpxEGyajEoNJ69
Nice save.
Thank you so much for all of that fantastic information that was very thoughtful of you.
We already have fallen in love.
kieslinglisa, You're welcome. :-)
I couldn't seem to find any truly conclusive information as to when Angelus Furniture ceased to do business, but their dot com domain is no more, and the last update post to that Facebook page was in 2013. However, somebody asked a question as recently as January 2021, and got a reply from somebody:
*snip*
Rob Brown
January 31 [2021] at 9:51 PM
If this is same company can you date this piece for me?
Tom Sorge
Unfortunately we don’t have records that date back to when we manufactured. We manufactured case goods from the early 1900’s to the early 1960’s. In the early days we penciled / chalked numbers on items. In the 1920’s to about the mid 1930’s, we started burning our name on items with branding irons, and we also used metal plaques. From that time until we stopped making case goods, in the late 1950’s early 1960’s, we used stencils.
From about 1960 on we only made upholstered furniture.
So long story short, I would venture to say your item is from sometime in the 1950’s.
Sorry I can’t be more specific.
17w · Edited
*snip*
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Angelus-Furniture-596455357066866/community/?ref=page_internal
So it would seem that your piece is no newer than the 1950s/early 1960s, because Angelus Furniture started making only upholstered furniture some time in the 1960s.
I'm glad you're enjoying it. Those concave doors on the side compartments are pretty cool. :-)
Oh, and the stenciled information means no earlier than the mid-1930s. So 1935-1960? :-)
Hi,
I find I can't see this very well. (I have my glasses on!) The photos are dark and a bit blurry. I also have a problem looking at the pics side-ways. From what I can see, it's a gorgeous piece of furniture, and it was lucky to have found you.
All the best - hoping you can update the photos.