Lane Furniture Identifying and Dating Trick

Fans of mid-century modern furniture are no strangers to the Lane furniture name, but this wasn't always the case. In 1912, John Lane purchased a box plant in Virginia and encouraged his 21 year old son, Ed, to start a chest factory using their newly acquired plant. Ed began making chests under a different name, Standard Red Cedar Chest Company, rather than the family name. It wasn't until they gained popularity and ventured out to make tables and other pieces that they used the Lane family name.
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Today we see a handful of Lane furniture pieces from the 50's and 60's. Three common lines are pictured below. Can you identify them?

If you said Perception, Acclaim, and Tuxedo, you would be right! Perception is characterized by the "wovenwood" panel on each piece. Acclaim is easy to identify by the dovetail joint on each piece connecting the walnut and fruit tree wood used. The Tuxedo line is easily recognized by the Rosewood inlays shaped like tiny bow ties. This accent is repeated in the stretcher supports and hardware.

​Lane pieces are great and relatively easy to identify, but the only way to know for sure that it is a true Lane piece is to check inside the drawer or on the underside for the Lane logo and serial number.  Speaking of the serial number - there is more to the number than it seems. You can actually read the serial number backwards to know the production date. For example the photo below is one of our pieces with the serial number 565150. This means it was produced on 05/15/65.

Some pieces may have an extra digit which tells us the plant number it was made in. For example if the serial number reads 1565150, backwards this is 0515651. Which means it was made on 05/15/65 in plant #1.

If you're interested in looking at additional lines we found this great PDF online!

Sources:
Furnishings, Lane Home. Our Company History, www.lanefurniture.com/page/our-company-history.
https://www.wright20.com/pdf/paul-mccobb-manufacturers-catalog/lane.pdf