1920s KOKEN BARBER CHAIR

[jckilla]

Hoping someone out there can help me with an estimate value on an 1920s or Early 1930s KOKEN barber chair. It is FULLY functional, has the Original Headrest, Original Footrest, has ceramic base and the hydraulics work perfectly. It has a leather Burgundy seat and seat back. Still has the original leather strap. My father bought this chair in the 50s and has been a part of our home ever since. ( was always kept indoors, in the game room ) This chair is in what i would say is almost PERFECT condition. Also, the original reason my father bought this chair is because the owner of the shop told my father John Dillinger ( the prolific bank robber ) sat in the chair regularly when he came in to get a haircut & shave. ( This information is not documented, but the chair was purchased in Marion County , Indianapolis, Indiana ) I would have to do more research to see if that may have been possible, but if anyone can help with a Guesstimate ( estimate ) of the chairs' worth, I would be greatly appreciated.

[railman44]

Some pictures would be nice.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I would start by contacting the John Dillinger Museum at the following link to help verify the authenticity of the chair. I think the real value will be in it's historic significance, rather than in the actual value of the chair.
http://www.dillingermuseum.com/index.html

[KC]

Unless it is authenticated that the chair was in fact used in such fashion...the chair can only be worth the value of the chair itself in a current market.

In order to attempt to help you we would need to see pictures.  Look for identifying marks.  The chair itself should have markings to help determine the year, etc.

[regularjoe2]

Welcome to the forum , jckilla .

The leather belt you mentioned is a 'razor strop' - sometimes they're stamped with dates , or other information that can possibly be traced to determine if this part of your chair was included with it originally , or at a later date .

It would be a good idea to keep all of the leather 'conditioned' , since old leather has a tendency to dry out .
Others here might differ with the opinion , though .

As other members said , authenticy matters ... it may take awhile to do , but can be a fun ride (if you like that sort of thing) .

My own experience is that not always does the story match the article ; when it does , yippee !

[talesofthesevenseas]

Ya know, this has me thinking...

Dillinger's movements/habits/places he frequented, might actually have been quite well-documented during the course of police investigations. Verification might not be as difficult as it would be with a non-criminal. The clincher would be if there was a bill of sale to your father or some other hard documentation, like a cancelled check in your father's papers, something that could solidly connect the chair to the shop he frequented. If hard documentation is lacking, I'd try to locate the family of the barber to see if there is anything solid on their end, like a receipt or if you can verify any kind of a connection between your father and the barber, how they knew each other etc. I'd love to see this this one work out for you!

[talesofthesevenseas]

I just happened upon a Koken barber chair for sale on Craigslist for $600
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/atq/1613639879.html

[Dean Perdue]

Good points TOT7S.
Yeah, just think of the worth and the desirability if you had some provenance/proof  that it was the real deal.
If I could find a shread of evidence I'd think to call History Detectives. Think they would  jump at something like this.

[jckilla]

Have several pics to upload as well as what I believe to be the serial number. The chair was purchased from a barber shop located on Michigan street in Indianapolis. Presently trying to find any shred of remaining evidence that Dillinger sat in the chair. Will be posting pics as soon as my father sends them to me. ( and Dean, thanks for the History Detectives idea, once I have some evidence that is tangible, I will definitely proceed with seeking their help )