Jones Furniture Company 1130 Peach St Erie PA

Jones Furniture, 1130-1132 Peach Street, Erie, PA July 1924

The Jones Furniture Company at 1130 Peach Street is another in a long line of defunct Erie, Pennsylvania businesses. The five-story building that used to sit on the west side of Peach between 11th and 12th streets is long gone as well.

Ansel D. Jones owned the Jones Furniture Company, which existed for quite a few years. Mr. Jones described his business in a newspaper advertisement in the Erie Dispatch on October 3, 1914:

I have spent the greater part of my life in the furniture business, and know it from the preparing of lumber to the final polishing- know it in all its ramifications, all the old-fashioned and new-fashioned ways of buying and selling it.

Of course, there's nothing remarkable in the fact that I do know. I am old enough to know, and have had ample experience and every opportunity to learn.

I have bought and sold millions of dollars' worth of furniture- all of the most reliable kind- in metropolitan stores, where my position depended entirely upon giving satisfaction to every customer.

The most pleasant business relations of my life were severed to come to Erie. And I need not tell you that nothing but the most confident hope of still more pleasant relations could have brought me here. Therefore, you can readily see that the most important thing on earth to me is to gain and retain the CONFIDENCE of the people of this city- MY city.

As before suggested, there have been many changes in the methods of the selling as well as the making of furniture in the past quarter-century- and occasionally we find the old-fashioned ways still in operation. Dealers carried a very small stock, making the greater number of their sales from a catalogue- frequently obtaining excessive prices while giving the customer the impression that he was quoting the wholesale price or very near it.

Then, of course, when you (supposing you were the customer) received the furniture selected from a catalogue, you were obliged to keep it willy-nilly. No matter whether you liked it or not, you had to live with it. Whether it proved to be too large or too small, too heavy or too light, whether it fitted in with the surroundings or not, IT WAS YOURS FOR KEEPS. And it may have been delivered with scratches or abrasions- but it was in your home to stay.

But it is DIFFERENT now- or, at least it is different HERE. It is no longer necessary to buy a 'pig in a poke.'

We carry a very large and varied stock from a number of the best manufacturers in America. Here you can SEE THE FURNITURE and judge carefully of its design, proportions, size and finish before it is received into your home. Then, if it is not satisfactory in every way, just say so, and it will be exchanged or your money refunded without red tape or quibble. We are very careful in handling furniture, and guarantee its delivery to your home in perfect condition.

Our stock it practically all new, selected with good taste and judgement born of long experience. And our furniture for dining room, bedroom, library and den, is almost invariably carried in matched suits, but single pieces can be bought, to be added later or not, as you please.

And please remember that you cannot buy anywhere else in Erie the makes and designs we show.

I retain the very same relations with the large manufacturers as when I conducted the furniture business of one of the half dozen largest department stores in this country- not only every advantage in selection of design and control of distinctive lines, but EVERY ADVANTAGE IN PRICE, and every opportunity to secure the occasional close-out lines and special lots.

Everything sold by the A. D. Jones Furniture Company is marked in plain figures, and the most scrutinizing comparison is invited. You are always welcome. Come and go as you please, without feeling any obligation to buy.

I shall be very glad to personally consult with you upon any furnishing problem you may have.

Sincerely yours,
A. D. Jones

(Jones Furniture was in direct competition with Reliable Home Furnishing Co. Read about Reliable here: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/08/jrs-last-laugh-building-1909-reliable.html )

The Wayne Furniture Company, 1225 State Street, announced that "We have purchased the entire stock of the A. D. Jones Furniture Company" in an ad in the Erie Dispatch-Herald on November 7, 1926.