Q & A

L. L. of North Battleford, SK writes:

I am in the process of helping my mother move from her home of 50 years into a condominium. She has an antique dining room suite that she has no room for in the condo.

It was manufactured from H Krug Furniture Company (High Grade Furniture) from Berlin Ontario . (label on the chair bottom) It consists of 6 chairs, 1 armchair, one round table with 7 leaves, 1 china cabinet and 2 serving hutches one with a mirror on top.

All pieces are solid Oak. It has never been refinished but the chair upholstery has been replaced from the original leather to a velvet. It is in good condition but not mint shape.

It originally came from Senator Prince’s house in Battleford probably purchased around 1900. Battleford was actually the head of government for all of the NWT at that time. It is rumored that the Prime minister of Canada had eaten dinner at the table when visiting Battleford. My parents bought the Mayor of Battleford's house in the 30's, who was also from the Prince family and the dining room suite came with the house. (It must have been moved from the Senator's house to the Mayer's house) When they built in North Battleford they moved the dining room suite with them. Since then they have had opportunities to sell it back to decedents of the Prince family. My mom has declined their offers and wants to keep it within our family. If the suite is more money than I can afford I would suggest my mother sell it. Neither my brother or sister want to buy the suite.

We asked Michael Rowan to respond:

I believe good replacement value would be around 3000 dollars. However you should check locally because certain oak pieces sell for more in Saskatchewan than in Ontario.

I’m not really sure about the historical value. It might be a good idea to check with the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon.