The Globe-Wernicke Co Ltd was an American furniture company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The company was founded in 1893, and specialized in the design and manufacture of military equipment.

History

Globe-Wernicke was formed as a result of the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

based Globe Files Company (est. in 1882) purchasing the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

based Wernicke Company, founded in 1893 by Otto Wernicke, in 1899. The company is best known for their high-end

bookcase A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookst ...

Desk A desk or bureau is a piece of furniture with a flat table (furniture), table-style work surface used in a school, office, home or the like for academic, professional or domestic activities such as reading (activity), reading, writing, or using ...

s, and other office

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

. Globe Wernicke established factories in the

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

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. The company patented the "elastic bookcases" also known as a modular bookcase or barrister's bookcase. These were high-quality stacking book shelves, with a standard width of 34 inches, in oak, walnut and mahogany, capable of being adapted to fit together to form a bookcase which could either be all of the same measurements or which could be rearranged by the insertion of units of different depths and heights. These glass-fronted shelves are today collectible antiques highly desired by collectors. With regularity, these bookcases appear in auctions and internet sites and, what originally cost $75 or so will now be sold for $900 or more. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

90% of the company's business in the US was converted to produce military equipment.

Mergers and acquisitions

*In September 1955, the company was purchased by the City Auto Stamping Company of

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. *In 1963 Globe-Wernicke acquired the

Weis Manufacturing Company The Weis Manufacturing Company, currently known as WoodCraft Square, is a former factory located at 800 West 7th Street (at the intersection with Union and originally the building used an address of 61 Union) in the city of Monroe in Monroe Coun ...

, and changed the company name to Globe-Weis Systems Company. *In 1987 American Trading and Production Company purchased Globe-Weis, and operated them under new name - ATAPCO Office Products Group. *In 2000 Cardinal Brands Inc. of

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

formed, merging Globe-Weis and four other brands.

References

External links

A history of the modular bookcases
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GLOBE WERNICKE BOOKCASES
Defunct furniture manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1899 Defunct companies based in Cincinnati American companies established in 1899 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Ohio