The state of Michigan, and particularly the city of Grand Rapids, has a proud heritage as a center of furniture design and manufacture. Follow these links to learn more about the history of the furniture industry in Michigan.  

Please direct any questions you may have about Grand Rapids furniture to the staff of the History and Special Collections Department of the Grand Rapids Public Library.

Grand Rapids Area Furniture 

• The Furniture Design Collection of the Grand Rapids Public Library, one of the finest in the world, holds manuscripts, books, directories, trade periodicals, and trade catalogs relating to the Grand Rapids furniture industry, dating from the 1870s to the present. Among the resources available online (all .pdf format) are collection finding aids for:
  • The Furniture Trade Catalog Collection (#232)
  • The Furniture Industry Collection (#233)
  • The Grand Rapids Furniture Designer's Association Records (#204)
  • The Grand Rapids Furniture Manufacturer's Association Records (#084)
    
    
• Also avaliable online at Grand Rapids Public Library, the Furniture and Business Periodicals Index, an index of Furniture Manufacturer & Artisan, Grand Rapids Furniture Record, Michigan Artisan, and Michigan Tradesman. (1883-1949) . The Michigan Artisan is now available online in .pdf format.
  
  
• Grand Rapids: The Furniture Capital of America, from William J.Etten's, A Citizens' History of Grand Rapids, Michigan, published by A. P. Johnson for the Campau Centennial Committee, 1926. 
  
  
• Herman Miller Consortium Collection is a searchable online database containing descriptive records of Herman Miller furniture held collectively by thirteen consortium member museums. They records include descriptive text and images.
  
  
• Late 19th Century Furniture by Berkey & Gay by Brian L. Witherell
  
  
• Manufacture of Furniture and Cabinet Wares–Chapter 12 from Albert Baxter's The History of the City of Grand Rapids, published by Munsell & Co.,1891, transcribed by the Kent County GenWeb.  

• Grand Rapids Furniture Designers Association, the nation's oldest association of furniture designers.  
  
  
• A Brief Look at the History of GRAFMA, the Grand Rapids Area Furniture Manufacturers Association.  

• A Survey of 5,419 Workers in the Furniture Industry of Michigan, 1889  

"In 1889 the Michigan Bureau of Labor undertook a canvass of workers in the furniture industry of their state. The study was one of a series undertaken by the bureau to obtain 'reliable information relating to the social conditions surrounding employees' in the state."  


• A Working List of Historic Michigan Furniture Manufacturers  

With a primary focus on Western Michigan manufacturers, this list gives the name, location and dates of operation for hundreds of Michigan furniture makers.