Hello Everyone,
I went to a local thrift store yesterday and bought a cast iron Park Bench. Once I got it home I was curious as to the age and price of the bench when it was sold. There was no instruction manual with it. I looked at the original picture on the original box and at the bottom corner, it read in fine print "Distributed by Ames Dept. Stores Inc. So, the inevitable search began to feed my curiosities. It looked brand new so I was curious about how old it is and what was the in store price at the time of sales.
All I had to go on was the very descriptive information on the outside of the box. On the front, it has the picture of the bench and the basic product information. What it is, what materials it is made of, the measurements, and just basic product description.
On the back, it has very specific info. Name of the store, purchase order #, dept. #, item/style #, carton #, cu ft, gross weight, country of origin, item #, SKU #, net weight, gross weight, MEAST, and quantity #.
I have binged, googled, and yahoo'd multiple times and ways to try to find anything on this bench. I've attached a photo in the google images and tried to find it that way too. My search has turned up nothing and lead me here. I have no idea how old this bench is and right now, I'm using it as a porch decoration with all my potted plants surrounding/on it. If it is an antique, I need to find out quickly so I can bring it in out of the weather. The google images search using the original picture on the box turned up nothing so I took my own photo and searched it and surprisingly, there were many similar versions of the bench that were close to mine but I still haven't found mine yet. Any help would be very much appreciated!! I'm new to this website and I'm not quite sure how the photo attachment works when you start a topic so, if it's possible, I'll try to reply back with the photo's I have and hopefully it will help you to help me find the information on this cast iron park bench.
Thank you in advance for all your help!
This is the original box with the original picture on the front.
This is a pic of the bench sitting in front of my couch right after we finished putting it together. Sorry about the quality of the light.
This is what I've decided to do with it since I can't really sit on it at my fire pit. This is why I need to find out how old it is. If it's an antique, I need to get it out of the weather.
It really made a beautiful addition and statement to my walk way with my gorgeous flowers!
That is one nice Ames bench with potted plants, but unfortunately, I can't really give you any information on the bench. But if it wasn't for the Ames distribution note on the box, it could have been from any other store.
Quote from: Pikapower on July 04, 2017, 02:33:56 PM
That is one nice Ames bench with potted plants, but unfortunately, I can't really give you any information on the bench. But if it wasn't for the Ames distribution note on the box, it could have been from any other store.
It is a gorgeous bench. I find it strange that I can't find any information on it whatsoever anywhere on this magical high speed internet we have today. I've searched for digital copies of catalogs or store inventory lists and even looked up Stephen L Pistner and Joseph R. Ettore (CFO and CEO of Ames Dept. Stores Inc in 2002) to see if I could find any contact information so I could reach out to them and see if they could get me any information and I had no luck. I would just love to know how old it is. It was truly a "diamond in a rough" find in our very small town thrift store. I paid $25 for it and would just love to know what the in store price for it was. Most benches like this today are high priced.
I will say that the experience of putting it together was an unforgettable one! lol My buddy came over to help me unload my new tv stand out of my car and he got the joy of me asking him to help me put it together. He, being the manly man, wanted to put it together by himself and sent me to the store for snacks and cigs. Remember, there were no instructions on how to put it together. When I got back, he had it put half way together and then second guessed himself and took it apart. I proceeded to help him. We struggled for an hour trying to get it together until it got dark on us and we gave up. Not to mention, my neighbors were setting off Mortar Fireworks. lol It was eating at me. I wanted it put together and to be done so I could enjoy the rest of my night. I started looking at the pics I took of the box and realized that he had the cast iron arms backwards. I went next door to get some tools (gone 5 minutes) and when I came back, he had it put together. lol It was a very insane but fun/enjoyable process. :)
....can I ask HOW you find our message board for this use? I dont mind as long as you dont spam our board.......
-Jon
There used to be a handful o former employees who might be able to help but they rarely log on.
Ames Corporate still technically exists, but I doubt they'd know anything about their namesake - it's mostly just distributing money and former assets of the company.
Judging by the design of the sticker on the box I'd say at least the early 90s. Not an 'antique' by my standards, but that doesn't mean rain won't hurt it. I don't know how those things last though, I could be wrong.
Quote from: NJxxJon on July 04, 2017, 06:03:07 PM
....can I ask HOW you find our message board for this use? I dont mind as long as you dont spam our board.......
-Jon
I found your page in my hours of searching online for the information on this bench. In one of the searches (I'm not sure what key words I used) a link for this website popped up. Of course, I see the information on your page and I'm thinking, "Yes, maybe someone can help me" so I signed up and registered. Honestly, that is the only reason I am here is in hopes that someone here can help me find the information I'm looking for on this bench.
My web searches have not turned up anything on this item.
Quote from: Patrick Boots CEC on July 04, 2017, 08:38:19 PM
There used to be a handful o former employees who might be able to help but they rarely log on.
Ames Corporate still technically exists, but I doubt they'd know anything about their namesake - it's mostly just distributing money and former assets of the company.
Judging by the design of the sticker on the box I'd say at least the early 90s. Not an 'antique' by my standards, but that doesn't mean rain won't hurt it. I don't know how those things last though, I could be wrong.
Honestly, I don't think it's ever been assembled. The wood slabs that form the back rest were supposed to be screwed into the cast iron. There no puncture marks on the wood until I put them there when assembling this thing. I think someone had bought it with the interest of putting it together and setting it up but they just never did. I'd say it has sat in a garage or closet for many years. I'm just wondering if I found a diamond in the rough with this thing or if it is just another pretty garden decoration? I can normally find anything that I try to research but there is absolutely nothing on this thing anywhere.
Quote from: WV Product Info Hunter on July 04, 2017, 01:32:40 PM
This is the original box with the original picture on the front.
Thanks for posting the photo. I remember those.
They were an import from China. We sold them around 1990-91 to my recollection.
They probably went on selling them for some time into the 90's (I left the company in 1992).
Just as well the instructions were missing, as I recall the sheet that came with it
was very poorly translated from the Chinese, and nearly impossible to follow. I seem
to also recall a lot of customer complaints about missing hardware and pieces that
had been damaged in shipping.
They sold for around $30-40 at the time, I think.
VW Info buddy,
Find your info? Staying around on our board also?