Michael Tho. Reynolds, Upholsterer & Furniture Maker records

The Michael Tho. Reynolds, Upholsterer & Furniture Maker records are comprised of correspondence, financial records, printed materials such as catalogs and upholstering journals, books, photographs and artifactual fabric swatches.

Correspondence dates from about 1980 to the present. This is broken into such categories as customers, donations of historic upholstering artifacts to organizations, research interests, government issues and suppliers. The supplier correspondence is mostly mail and catalog information sent to Mr. Reynolds. His trade journals or notes on how he completes certain upholstering techniques (1989-1998) are placed at the end of the correspondence. The descriptions in these provide insights into Mr. Reynolds great interest in traditional hand done upholstering technique. The correspondence for certain customer projects shows how Mr. Reynolds works with various organizations and private citizens and how detailed he documents that work. The correspondence is closed to researchers. The trade journals may be used by researchers but Michael Thomas Reynolds must be credited if information is duplicated or quoted.

The financial records include general ledgers, itemized workbooks (with contract and inventory information), and financial papers (invoices, receipts, bills). These records begin in 1979 and run to the present (the itemized workbooks begin in 1989). Some financial data is also included later in the fabric sample/job records-usually customer invoices with each job. Mr. Reynolds meticulously documents details of various business transactions whether with his customers or with his suppliers. One can possibly research the kinds of jobs being done, the kinds of materials needed, costs of these jobs and what supplies have become obsolete or cannot be obtained any longer.

Printed materials comprise upholstering magazines, journals, catalogs, price lists, miscellaneous directories, articles and books mostly from the 1980s to the present. Using the catalogs one could trace the availability and cost of certain supplies over time and could also observe how the trade has changed as products are no longer offered. The books represent upholstering and decorative arts, textile and furniture topics. They date from the 19th century to the present and are reflective of Mr. Reynolds' vast interest in various handcrafts/trades.

Photographs comprise less than half of one cubic foot of the collection and include negatives, contact prints and slides of upholstering projects accompanied by identification of some images. These document jobs before, during and after upholstering is completed. Additional photographs of this kind are included in the fabric sample/job records. The above photographs date from approximately the 1980s and 1990s.

The largest record series, the fabric sample/job records, document individual jobs for customers throughout any given year and often include swatches of original fabrics removed from furniture, swatches of replacement fabric, photographs, invoices and the like.

Four oversized boxes include historic fabrics and supplies, needlepoint designs and the like removed from furniture during reupholstering. Three fragments of historic wallpaper have been encapsulated and are included among the oversized materials in the collection.

Most of the correspondence focuses on supplier mail and catalog information. Some customer thank you cards and job particulars are included along with miscellaneous research interests, organization memberships and donations of historic upholstering artifacts to various institutions.

Mr. Reynolds' notes on how he completed certain upholstering techniques.

GENERAL LEDGERS (closed to researchers, not listed in below inventory); 1979-; Arranged chronologically. The general ledgers provide a comprehensive financial picture of the business at a particular time.

ITEMIZED WORKBOOKS; 1989-; Arranged chronologically. These workbooks include inventory details and contract information relative to particular jobs.

ADDRESS BOOK; 1985-1990. Includes more account information and was kept with financial documents.

FINANCIAL PAPERS (1991 to present closed to researchers and not listed in below inventory); 1979-; Arranged chronologically. These financial papers include invoices, receipts and bills.

UPHOLSTERING JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES; 1988-; Arranged by title. Some of these may only have a single issue. With these are included membership directories and miscellaneous upholstering articles and booklets.

CATALOGS AND PRICE LISTS; 1980's-; Arranged by categories of suppliers. These include literature from wooden furniture frame manufacturers, fabric, leather, other suppliers and some samples.

BOOKS; 1867-. Books are arranged by such topics as upholstering, decorative arts, textiles, furniture and miscellaneous.

Negatives, contact prints, and slides of upholstery projects often taken before, during and after job completion. Some identification is provided. Additional job photographs can be found in the fabric sample/job records.

FABRIC SAMPLE/JOB RECORDS; 1990-; Arranged chronologically. These include swatches of original fabrics removed from furniture swatches of replacement fabric, before, during and after photographs, invoices and the like. These document individual jobs for customers throughout any given year.

OVERSIZED SAMPLES; 19th and 20th century. Include historic fabrics, supplies, needlepoint designs and the like removed form furniture during reupholstering. These are labeled by Mr. Reynolds for research purposes. Caution must be exercised in handling these items. Also included are several historic wallpaper fragments.