Link-Taylor Bedroom Set

Q: I bought a bedroom set from a neighbor who was moving. Inside the drawers there’s a shield-shaped mark that says ‘Link-Taylor.’ Can you tell me something about the manufacturer?

A: Henry Talmadge Link (1889-1983) took over the Dixie Furniture Co. in Lexington, N.C., in 1936. Dixie had been organized in 1901 to manufacture bedroom sets. Other men, including Frank Taylor, joined Link at Dixie, which eventually took up nine city blocks in Lexington. Link is credited with introducing mass-production methods to furniture assembly lines. In the 1950s, Dixie’s owners decided to break the corporation up into four separate companies, each specializing in a different type of furniture. Link-Taylor was one of those new companies. It specialized in solid wood bedroom and dining room furniture. In 1987 Masco Corp. of Michigan bought the four Lexington companies and merged them to form Lexington Furniture Industries. So your bedroom set was made between about 1950 and 1987. The company is still in business. Today it’s known as Lexington Home Brands.