I need help here with these American of Martinsville dresser and nightstand. They were both found in the same storage unit so I'm not sure if they are a set or not, they look similar in design but not color. I've searched the internet and have found no results on these exact dressers, not really even similar ones.
I don't know if they're vintage or antique, and I just wanna know what they're worth. The lighter in color one is around 3 1/2 feet tall and the darker one is around 5 feet tall. The small one has 3 drawers, even though the design makes it seem like more. The same with the big one except it has 4 drawers. The small one locks, but the big one does not.
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This may be from their Hotel line, 1980s era. The older pieces had the logo burnished or branded on in black--later--I think the 1970s they started using the sticker label you have.
Definitely not mid century modern like the cool stuff they made with super clean lines and the Danish influence of the 1950s. This is a clunky set, harder lines, not as elegant, but quite practical. I am guessing 80s because they have that kitchy country look to them that was HUGE in the 1980s. They could be 1970s, but my gut says later.
This looks like a set based on the aprons and handles also look to be very close (hard to get them to blow up well on the screen--sorry).
One may have sun damage causing the color differences.
Where I am these (PA) these have very little value, but every place is different.
You can always start high (like $100 each) and take best offer, which if you are where I am would be about $10 each.
It is all about supply and demand and condition! I feel a flipper would want these to paint or upscale! A good repurposing would probably give them more value if done right!
If you have a decent furniture reseller in your area you can get their take--they may even know which hotel they came from!
Post back what you learn! Thanks for sharing!
After further inspecting, there are letters stamped or printed on the back in black, but they are very faded. The only thing i can make out on either of them is "9/99" on the smaller one. Im assuming thats a date? Also what led me to speculate that they could possibly be a set is they both have black knobs as handles at the top, and pretty much identical handles for the rest of the drawers, But I don't know much about this stuff. Thanks for the help!
Here is a picture of the letters on the back of the smaller one, I can't get to the big one currently.
Sounds like you are having fun bidding on unpaid storage units.
Hope you are doing well with your finds.
My family has done some of this in the past and some 'buys' were very good but not all (I enjoyed participating though).
Your last picture is the reason we ask for more pictures because you can clearly see the markings and the material used is definitely of the lower quality hotel/motel style furniture.
I have been to some of the sales that hotels put on when remodeling and this is the type of items usually seen. Of course, they no longer sell off 'used' bedding but everything else goes. If I remember correctly they would have a set price for each type of item (usually no more than $25) no matter the condition, and you could buy as few or as many as you wanted.
That said, it appears your pieces have some issues but may be cleaned/touched up a bit and list them for $125 each with best offer considered and local pick up only.
List this type of furniture on Craigslist, USA4Sale, Facebook Marketplace, offerup, Ioffer, letgo, etc (your area/zip) and leave it listed at least 3 months and if no offers then lower the price and wait again.
Thanks so much for the info, it really helps. I almost threw those in the dump when I found them, they are very unassuming when you find them in a room full of mostly old junk. And yeah bidding on storage auctions are really fun for some reason haha, also pretty easy way to make money.
I'm glad you have found a way to make some extra money in this critical unemployment time and I'm sure you have found this is a good way to keep from being bored.
My daughter once found a beautiful watch in a coat pocket.
My adventures with this was in Gainesville, FL and when the students leave they dump everything in a storage (for Mom and Dad to deal with) so we had fun but that was years ago.
Sometimes furniture is difficult because you have to have storage space and 'working' space but even $25 helps make up what the unit cost.
Maybe you will have to invest in a small trailer?
Keep asking questions as there are several members who can usually help with identifying almost anything.
Thanks for the additional pictures! That 99 may have them later than I realized--I don't think of this style as being from 1999, but it looks like that is the date!
Almost definitely hotel pieces based on the backs. We used to have a warehouse that auctioned off hotel surplus in Pittsburgh back in the day and they always did quite well flipping the pieces. I hope you can fetch something for them!
I have been a flipper/reseller all my life, but I gave up on furniture almost completely (never say never in the junk world) because of the lack of storage, not wanting people to come to my house, and the huge drop in values in "brown" furniture. Every market is different though, so I hope you are in a market with a higher demand and a lower supply!
Thanks for sharing! Happy hunting!! The hunt is fun!!
From what I can find out this would be considered mid-century furniture. I can't find the exact design of your dresser and nightstand table at all. I can see what you are saying that one of the items is quite a bit darker than the other one. There are some differences in the two designs and I don't believe they are a set. A lot of times people will buy one piece of furniture and fall in love with the design and try to find a matching piece to buy. However, they can't find the exact piece so they end up buying a similar piece which I think has happened here. The company made high-end mid-century furniture and that is what these two pieces would fall under. If you take a look on Charish you'll find a lot of these listed there but none that resemble yours. Notice the prices on this site are rather high. I see some damage to one of the items which would actually lower the value when sold. If you can find the right market in your area you can start off asking $200 or so for the dresser and around $100 or so for the nightstand.
American of Martinsville created a lot of mid century modern furniture although established in the 1900's.This furniture can still bring in a good buyer. Most Martinsville furniture was made of oak and made durable for its time. Now, they suggest that painting those old pieces to revamp and bring more life to a almost forgotten piece. - www.vintagefurnitureguide.com/
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