varnished oak wood residential staircase newel post finial likely fabricated by palmer, fuller, & company, chicago, lls. retains the original varnished finish. the company, a major producer of wooden building materials during the late nineteenth century, was founded in chicago in 1866 by a. r. palmer and w. a. fuller. in 1869 the partners built a large lumber mill at 22nd and union streets. by 1873 that facility employed about 400 men and produced about $800,000 a year worth of sash, doors, and other goods. in 1880, the plant employed more than 500 workers. priced individually.