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Vol. 10 No. 2
Published by Furniture by Tomlinson with Craftshops at High Point, North Carolina
TOMLINSON Story
The manufacture of nationally
famous Furniture by Tomlinson
was begun in January, 1900, by
Sidney Halstead Tomlinson, Sr.
The location, then and now, was
in High Point, North Carolina,
and the firm was known as the
Tomlinson Chair Manufacturing
Company. The paid-in capital was
$8,000.00, and operations began
in a one-story sheet-iron building
with floor space of about 18,000
square feet. Eight persons were
employed and the total volume of
busin ess the first year was
$48,000.00.
THE FOUNDER
S. H. TOMLINSON, SR.
May 4, 1876 — March 15, 1949
In 1904, “Mr. S. H.,” as he was
affectionately known, persuaded
the best man he could find, his
brother Charles F. (“Mr. C. F.”)
Tomlinson, to join him as secre
tary-treasurer of the company.
This began a partnership which
‘Tomlinson of High Point is more than a
trade name,’’ said The State magazine (Ra
leigh, N. C.) in February, 1947. “It stands
for a Quaker family that for five genera
tions has lent its strength and its integrity
to industrial and civic development. In the
old Quaker phrase, the Tomlinsons have
always been concerned with ‘all things civil
and useful in the creation.’
“There’s been a Tomlinson in the Caro-
linas ever since 1782, when William Tomlin
son came from Pennsylvania. The family
has been known for sturdy products manu
factured, for continued and lively interest
in education, and for that sort of Quakerism
which moves and directs the whole man in
his worship, in his family life and his re
lationship with mankind.”
was to last 39 years, terminated
only by the death of C. F. Tom
linson in January, 1943, while he
was presiding at a directors’ meet
ing of the High Point, Thomas-
ville and Denton Railroad, of
which he was the President.
Sidney Halstead Tomlinson con
tinued in office as president of
the company until his death in
March, 1949. His passing was the
result of a stroke suffered in
June, 1944, while on a business
trip to Philadelphia.
At the start, the main product
of the company was the assembl
ing and finishing of chairs. Pro
gress and success followed
through the years. In 1911 the
company bought the Globe-Home
(Continued on Page Two)
EVERY DRAWER IS FITTED BY HAND
All cabinet parts in Furniture
by Tomlinson are machined to a
tolerance of l/32nd of an inch.
Drawers are hand-fitted to in
dividual cases. Center drawer
guides are glued and screwed for
“ball-bearing” fingertip operation.
All cabinet furniture is care
fully handwaxed and rubbed. Some
finishes take as many as 16 op
erations.
To maintain this high quality,
constant inspection is given all
along the line—as often as six
times before final approval.