Ethan Allen furniture markings

About Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen began as the Baumritter company, a housewares sales agency founded in New York in 1932 by brothers-in-law Theodore Baumritter and Nathan Ancell. They initially sold goods made by other firms. In the middle of the 1930s they acquired a Vermont manufacturing operation at Beecher Falls, bringing production into the business. A 28-piece colonial-style furniture range introduced in 1939 took the name of Vermont Revolutionary War figure Ethan Allen.

The range developed into coordinated furniture for different rooms, supported by open-stock designs that customers could add to over time. Maple and birch were prominent in the early colonial collections, with cherry, mahogany and other materials used across later ranges. The business expanded its manufacturing facilities and worked through a network of furniture retailers. Ancell promoted room settings in gallery displays, bringing furniture and accessories together as complete interiors.

The Ethan Allen Treasury appeared in 1962, combining furniture illustrations with decorating guidance. Free-standing galleries developed during the 1960s, and design services became central to the retail model. The Ethan Allen name eventually replaced Baumritter as the corporate identity. Later collections extended well beyond the original colonial designs to include traditional, contemporary and upholstered furniture, along with lighting and home accessories.