"
Quality. Quality furniture, made of solid wood. To be sold at a marketable
price.
That
is what I meant the name Davis Cabinet Company to stand for." Lipscomb
Davis, Sr.
These
words of our venerable leader introduce this short history of our firm
which began in 1929. There are certainly older furniture companies ----
and obviously younger ones, but quite likely, none with a more romantic
history or a more Horatio Alger-like history than ours. Davis Cabinet
Company began as the dream of one man, Lipscomb "Lip" Davis, and as
is the case with most dreams, this one ---- the impractical idea of
building fine furniture from solid wood ---- was thought to be an impossibility.
Wood, like steel and iron and most other substances, expands and contracts
with climate changes. Furniture built of solid wood must of necessity
rack itself to pieces through the inexorable changes of expansion and
contraction. Lipscomb Davis thought otherwise. His personal philosophy
might be expressed as "Anything can be accomplished if it is done correctly",
and to this end he had already conceived and engineered a startling
new concept of free floating construction that would allow the solid
wood case construction to move at will . . . . naturally . . . and thereby
avoid the stresses of climatic change. The opportunity to test the idea
came dramatically in 1929 ---- but we're getting a bit ahead of our
story.
While
Davis Cabinet Company was formed in 1929, it really had its beginnings
around the turn of the century as a sawmill located near Fifth Street
on the banks of the Cumberland River. The mill produced lumber from
logs rafted down the river from neighboring forests. A ready market
existed for most of the high grade lumber turned out by the mill. But,
in order to utilize their entire production, the enterprising mill owners
formed a subsidiary business, Standard Furniture Company. Here, they
manufactured primarily veneered bedroom suites and sewing machine cabinets.
In 1921, Lipscomb Davis went to work for Standard. And, in five years,
became plant superintendent. It was during his years as superintendent
at Standard that he first formed his free floating theory of solid wood
manufacture. Further, he envisioned a ready waiting market for the kind
of quality and style he intended as the hallmark of his furniture. Furniture
made of the finest select hard woods. In July, 1929, Mr. Davis, with
the backing of several Nashville businessmen, bought out Standard Furniture
Company. And began producing the kind of furniture he dreamed of. Almost
immediately the economic crash of 1929 hit the nation and production
was practically halted. The companies recovery was hampered by the fact
that buildings and equipment were in a bad state of repair. One of the
worst floods in Nashville's history had occurred in 1927. With the Cumberland
cresting at 16 feet above flood level, Standard suffered extensive damage
to machinery, the loss of lumber and inventory. Including a complete
floor of fancy veneered furniture ready for shipment. The youthful president
managed to keep his company going, however. Then, the war years interrupted
furniture production when the firm directed all its efforts to the manufacture
of walnut gun stocks for the army. With the return of peace, Davis Cabinet
began a period of steady growth. The Davis line, as we know it today,
includes Lillian Russell, Cumberland Valley, Ellesdale Manor, Legacy
Collection, and custom built pieces.
©2003
Davis Cabinet Company. All Rights Reserved.