Determining the Age of a Murphy Cedar Chest?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

October 26, 20180 found this helpful

They were made in the middle of the 20th century

Pghgirl40
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October 26, 20180 found this helpful

My understanding of the Murphy's markings is the 45 means 1945.

kathylcollins123

March 27, 20220 found this helpful

The number 20, or 40 is not the year it is the model number. I have a Murphy 20 I also have the sales tag with it and it says the model number is 20. Not sure how old mine is but it originally sold for 89.95.

 

15mhhm15
Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,298 Posts

October 26, 20180 found this helpful

Your chest is in beautiful condition.

Another person on Thriftyfun posted about their 1940's Murphy Bedroom Furniture, so that probably means 45 stands for 1945!

Reference: www.thriftyfun.com/tf75936578.tip.html

cybergrannie
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November 2, 20180 found this helpful

Murphy cedar chests are well made but not very rare and generally sell for less money than their rival: Lane cedar chests.

• I believe there are a lot of misconceptions about the Murphy Cedar Chests; especially about how to determine the actual date a chest was made.
• The numbers marked on the chests mainly refer to the style and the factory.
• I have done a lot of research on the Murphy Cedar Chest Company, the Murphy Chair Company and the Murphy Bed Company and I believe that I can say, without much doubt, that none of these companies were related to each other. There is a lot of information obtainable about Murphy Chair and Murphy Bed Companies but almost no history about the Murphy Cedar Chest Company.
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• There is a statement from a family member of the Murphy Cedar Chest company on a Thrifty fun site that states the following:
• "Hi; My name is Lawson Murphy. My family manufactured cedar chests from 1946-2004. We shut down manufacturing due to Chinese competition. "
• I believe this throws out all references to any of the numbers on the chests referring to the date they were made as the numbers are single digit up to 6 or 7 digits and some end in the number 17.
• I do not believe the date a Murphy Chest was made will make very much difference to anyone as it appears they all sell in about the same price range. I have seen nice chests sell for $50 and others sell for $150 but I believe the area the chest is located will have a lot to do with what someone is willing to pay.
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• Not too many young people are looking to buy a cedar chest so that reduces the market considerably. It seems most sales on eBay are for Lane cedar chests but the small salesman sample chests ($5-$20) are the big sellers.
• Check out the sold listings on eBay:
• www.ebay.com/.../i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=murphy+cedar...
• Here is a nice chest that has been listed (and relisted) for some time but you may want to place a watch on it to see if it sells.
• www.ebay.com/.../141427558853
• Without a purchase receipt or a relative with purchase knowledge, I believe you may have to be satisfied with the fact that your chest was made between 1946 - 2004.
• I would love to hear from someone that may have more information about what these numbers mean and if there is an accurate way to determine when a Murphy chest was made.