Biggs Furniture, based in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, was once a leading U.S. manufacturer of colonial reproduction

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

. The company flourished in the 20th century, alongside reproductions by

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

by the Kittinger Company, and other mass market reproduction brands like

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

and Pennsylvania House. In 1975, the company was purchased by the Kittinger Company. The restored manufacturing plant at 900 West Marshall Street in Richmond is now an apartment complex. Examples of the furniture were in homes and in public buildings such as the Hotel John Marshall and Miller & Rhoads Tea Room. The company was one of many Virginia furniture makers of the 20th century. Alfred Hemmings served as the final president of Biggs. Hemmings came to Biggs from Kittinger Furniture of Buffalo, NY. He left Biggs in the late 1970s to return to England, his country of birth, to serve as Managing Director of Brett&Sons in Norwich, East Anglia. He returned as president of Biggs Furniture in the early 1980s until the business shut its doors. During his tenure, Biggs provided furnishings for the White House and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He lived in Richmond in the West End with his wife, Doreen, and is survived by two daughters, Lynn Hemings of E. Amherst NY and Tracy H. Aitken, of Richmond, Va. sources: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/buffalonews/name/alfred-hemmings-obituary?id=4692501 https://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/golfd/page/1974mar61-70.pdf

References

Manufacturing companies based in Richmond, Virginia Furniture companies of the United States {{US-manufacturing-company-stub