Inventor with sad ending defined metal furniture
Sometimes a designer becomes very popular with a new design, sells his products, becomes wealthy, and then his designs become commonplace and he goes bankrupt.
That is the sad story of Warren McArthur, a talented designer of the 1930s who was among the first to make aluminum furniture.
McArthur was born in 1885 in Chicago and grew up in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He went to Cornell to study mechanical engineering, and by 1914, he had filed 10 patents for lamp designs. He moved to Phoenix and, with his brother, owned car dealerships and a radio station and built the Arizona Biltmore. He also patented a useful adapter for a car radiator. All were successful.
In 1929, he moved to Los Angeles and started a metal-furniture business. He improved the manufacturing process with his inventions, including an aluminum that didn’t tarnish and a way to permanently color the metal. The brightly colored metal furniture was popular in Hollywood and was featured in movie theaters and stars’ homes.
During the Depression in the 1930s, McArthur moved to New York City, and during World War II, his company made airplane seats.
But McArthur went bankrupt in 1948 and died in 1961.
Q: I have a large bowl marked “Z. S. & Co.” with a wiggly line underneath and the word “Bavaria” under the line. The bowl is decorated with roses and has a scalloped rim. If my piece is worth anything, I won’t turn it into a bird bath.
A: This mark was used after 1880 by Zeh, Scherzer & Co., a porcelain factory located in Rehau, Bavaria, Germany. The company became part of Allerthal A.G., an investment company, in 1991 and porcelain production stopped in 1992.
Porcelain is too fragile to be a bird bath. If the patterns is attractive, your bowl might sell well at an antiques shop. A bowl big enough for a bird bath might bring $50-$75. Current prices
Prices recorded from throughout the U.S.
■ Biscuit tin, square, embossed with blueberries and leaves, beaded border, hinged lid, c. 1905, 7 x 7 inches, $25
■ Chintz pottery, cheese keeper, ivory, flower clusters, gilt trim, scalloped dish, lid with ball finial, Erphila, 4 x 7 inches, $50
■ Mechanical bank, Uncle Sam standing on platform, eagle, lever lowers arm and drops coin into bag, cast iron, paint, c. 1910, $175
■ Lap guitar, steel, wood with inlaid mother of pearl dots, 29 frets, tube amplifier and speaker, case, Kay, 33 x 10 inches, $635