Hi. I purchased a maple and birch dresser today at a local thrift. Beautiful piece and from what I've been able to learn it was made by the Vermont Furniture Company.
Brand marking burned inside each drawer says "Vermont of Winooski, Constructed of (?) Maple & Birch, Old Town Finish."
Above that branding are two words. The second word is clearly "Group". The first word appears to be "Culchester", making the whole phrase Culchester Group. I'm assuming this was the line of furniture?
Unfortunately I can't find any reference online to "Culchester Group" so I'm wondering if I'm misreading the first word of that line. Anyone know if Vermont Furniture made a line called Culchester Group, or something similar? I'd post a pic of the mark but I don't see an option to do that here.
I know the piece has no great value but I'd love to find some matching pieces to round out a nice bedroom suit for the guest room.
Thanks for any help/feedback! Cheers!
Posted By
Patrick,
4/8/2011
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Replies
From Stoogeman4,
7/7/2016
12:24 AM
Dear Novella, I also have 2 Dresser Drawer marked Colchester Group,Old Time Finest I believe it says. You mentioned you did some research on The era and history on your set. Would like to kno where you got ur info or Website you used to get that info???? Stoogeman4 @ stoogeforever4life@yahoo.com
From Nancy M,
6/14/2016
5:24 PM
Hello. I too have a Colchester Group, Vermont Furniture Co.brandmarked bedroom set consisting of the full bed frame, dresser with matching mirror, chest of drawers and one night stand. All are in excellent condition and I am willing to sell the set. It was purchased by my parents in the 1950s. I can provide photos of all pieces to the interested party.
From Novella,
7/17/2013
1:25 PM
I have the two piece dresser set. I decided to research the era from the location of the stamp inside a drawer of the dresser. I am pleased to find out about the history of these. Mine show some wear on the upper drawers. The original drawer pulls were changed at some point. But still they are solid pieces.
From casmith309,
2/7/2013
10:28 AM
We have a solid maple 3-piece bedroom set from Colchester Group, 1950s-era. Purchased by my parents for their first bedroom set. I have pictures. If anyone is interested in purchasing the set, please reply to this post. One piece the tall bureau has sustained water damage and needs to be refurbished.
Thanks,
Carol
From Marv,
10/26/2012
8:59 PM
I have a Culchester Group dresser. Could you tell me when the company was in business? Thanks
From Rick,
11/20/2011
5:36 PM
I too have a couple of pieces made by the Colchester Group that have been in my family forat least 60 years. One is a high boy and the other is the matching mirror. On the high boy, one of the top drawers has the fading decal of the Colchester Group and the other top drawer has the burned - in "Solid Vermont Hard Rock Maple for Generations" and it also says something like "Made in Winooski". It's tough to read.
Do you know when these pieces of furniure were made? (I assume they were purchased in NYC.)
From Patrick,
8/11/2011
7:29 PM
It's the Colchester Group, made by Vermont Furniture Company. They didn't sell much of this line. At the time, they were making mostly Bennington Pine. The Colchester Group was priced lower than Bennington Pine, and the wood was a little bit thinner, but the quality was still excellent. It won't be easy to find more used furniture from the Colchester Group, because they didn't produce very much of it. And the company has been out of business for many years. (My father was one of the partners in the firm. The factory was in Winooski, Vermont, and they had just bought a warehouse nearby in Colchester, Vermont. So that's how the line was named the Colchester Group!)