Did a Man Called Walter Really Make Tables for the Wabash Furniture Company?
Walter did not make tables for a Wabash furniture company. Because “Walter of Wabash” is sometimes the only marking on older tables, found on the wooden extension slide, it’s often presumed that Walter was the manufacturer of the furniture. Actually, B. Walter & Co. only made the sliding extension.
In 1884, Bossler Walter and his partner, Thomas Hennessey, bought a Huntington manufacturing company that produced wooden furniture slides. Slides were in high demand, as they allowed a family-sized table to be extended into a larger party or formal dining table through the addition of leaves. The business was relocated to Wabash, Indiana, where it has remained headquartered since. The slides have been used by many furniture manufacturers on a wide variety of table styles through the years.
