Levi Heywood Memorial Library
55 West Lynde Street
Gardner, MA 01440-3810

Contact: Gail P. Landy, Director
Phone: 978-632-5298
FAX: 978-630-2864
Hours: Mon. & Wed. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Tues., Thu. & Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Seasonal Hours: June, July & August: Closed Saturdays
Services for the Disabled: Americans with Disabilities Act accessible; handicapped parking

Furniture Special Collection

Name: Local History Room
Contact: Pam Meitzler, Local History Cataloguer
Holdings: 1.5 linear feet of Heywood-Wakefield Shop News; 12 linear feet of furniture catalogs; 11 linear feet of bound ledgers, account books, letters and minutes; approximately 18 linear feet of photographs and negatives; approximately 6 linear feet of other documents

Collection Description:
Heywood-Wakefield Company Archives—
This collection includes many furniture catalogs and price lists, beginning in 1826 with Walter Heywood, and continuing with other Heywood partners, until 1979. There is an extensive group of catalogs and pricelists from the 1800s. Catalog subjects include rattan furniture; baby carriages; high chairs; children’s furniture; bus and train seating; cane, wood and leather seat chairs; living room, dining room and bedroom furniture; institutional furniture; mats and matting; outdoor furniture; public seating; and school furniture. Furniture designers include Joseph Carr, Ernest Herrmann, Carl Otto, Jan Knudren, Wells Squier, Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, Leo Jiranek, and John Van Koert.

There are also seventeen bound volumes of Heywood-Wakefield’s “Shop News,” covering the years 1936-1950 and 1961-1974. There is one box of “Shop News” issues that are not bound; these are for 1950-1955.

There are 16 hinged boxes (most are 11” X 14” by 3 ½ “) of documents and photographs. Three of these boxes contain documents, news articles, contracts, correspondence, designs, and account books. Three contain patents. These boxes range in dates from 1843-1926.
The other ten boxes contain photographs. Many of the photographs show furniture being made; some are of factory buildings and people in various departments of the company, and company events. Many of the photographs appeared in issues of “Shop News.” In addition, there are about 6 record boxes of slides, photographs and negatives from the 1960s. There are also films of company events from the 1930s. Most of the later photographs were taken by Norm Wironen.

There are also catalogs from some of Heywood-Wakefield’s competitors. Gardner-area catalogs include: several of Gem Crib & Cradle and Gem Industries; George Bent mailer; Kelly Brothers illustrated catalog, 1907; Rousseau Brothers catalog, 1965; S. Bent catalogs and mailers; Temple-Stuart catalog, 1965; Thayer catalog, 1966. There are photocopies of catalogs of Gem Babyland, 1939; S. K. Pierce, 1915-1916; Thayer price list, 1954; and George C. Winchester catalog (sometime after 1868; original is in storage).

Access: Collections are available for viewing by appointment. The Local History Room is open limited hours. Some collections are not accessible.
Copying: Some materials may be copied, with permission of local history cataloguer.
Loans: No loans permitted
Finding Guides Available: There are index cards which describe the furniture catalogs, index cards filed by subject for the photographs, and a printed description of the documents in the hinged boxes.