conversing with marty uhl: grandchild of the man who designed the "uhl art steel" toledo stool

for the past few months i have been exchanging emails with marty uhl, the grandchild of clement uhl, who with his brother joe, founded the toledo metal furniture company in 1903. for the next several decades, their "uhl art steel" furniture would find its way in commercial spaces throughout the country. in modern times, the resurgence of the clement-designed adjustable four-legged stool is a hot "industrial craze" commodity, evidenced by the tens of thousands of "faithful" reproductions by home furnishing chain stores including restoration hardware and the like.

i've learned a great deal about the company and its origins from the vast amount of information and images generously shared by marty uhl. i've been incredibly fortunate to see the original pencil drawing of the "perfection" chair, interior photographs of the company's early furniture installations and period images of their factory.

today i received a package from marty that contained, to my great surprise and delight, multiple original product catalogs of the "uhl art steel" furniture i've devoted an entire category to on my website. for several years now, i've been looking tirelessly for an original product catalog in any and all formats to no avail. today, i can proudly say i now possess catalogs offered during the company's infancy and the depression, when their steel furniture had gained widespread popularity in offices and ice cream parlors across the country.

i'm eternally grateful to mr. uhl for not only reaching out to me several months ago, but providing me with countless email attachments and the package of original catalogs printed by or for his grandfather's company. i have included several images from both the catalogs and attachments from our email exchanges.

i sincerely hope i can visit marty uhl, who resides in toledo, where he holds a vast archive of his grandparent's photographs, drawings, letterheads, period advertising and so much more. if that visit comes to fruition, i promised him that i would digitize the entire collection to share with any and all who have a genuine appreciation and admiration for the quality and craftsmanship of "uhl art steel" furniture.

additional images of from the catalogs and attachments provided by marty through our email exchanges shown in the image gallery below.

a nice follow-up email from marty uhl after i informed him of my gratitude for the priceless ephemera he sent me (see below).

Eric,

The catalogs are yours buddy!

Just keep promoting the genius that was my grandfather and his brothers. I would love everyone to know what a mechanical genius my grandfather was.

Whenever you are in Toledo, look me up and we can spend hours looking at my grandfather's artifacts.

If you ever find a Uhl Bike, I would love to buy it from you. A Uhl bike is my ultimate prize.

Keep in touch and enjoy the Uhl catalogs.

Marty