The story of Sam Moore is a romantic tale of the American furniture industry – not too different from that of Toms-Price.
Think of the old newsreel man in a long silk scarf, piloting a bi-plane. That was Sam. He was a graduate of Washington and Lee University in 1918 and enlisted in the Army Air Force in WWI. His father was a Pennsylvania furniture store owner who had one of those shops that combined casket and cabinet making, as so many of the early American furniture stores did. On returning from the war, Sam decided not to pursue embalming, but still appreciated the cabinet making side of the family business.
A friendly, outgoing person who enjoyed selling, Sam obtained two furniture lines to represent in his late 20s. After selling this furniture for 8 years in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, Sam took a leap of faith and started his own company with four other friends, believing he could make a better chair for less money than what he had been selling. It was 1940 when the group bought the Delaware Chair Company in Ohio for $15,000.
After weathering the ups and downs of the WWII period, he eventually moved south and founded his own company, Sam Moore Chair. With 12 styles of chairs, cut from the same pattern, it became America’s leading chair manufacturer between 1943 and 1973.
Fast forward to the next century and the press release reads: “In April, 2007 Hooker Furniture Company acquired Sam Moore as part of a strategic goal to further diversify into fabric upholstery.” So, this all American-made furniture story continues!
According to our Toms-Price upholstery buyer, Sam Moore chairs are fun, colorful, and a really good value – “the perfect accent when you may not want to spend big bucks, but want something fun and different.”
