Edwin F. Karges, Sr., born in 1896 in Evansville, Indiana, was the son of 2nd generation immigrant Albert F. Karges, founder of the Karges Furniture Co., Inc. Though his father wished him to become a businessman like himself, Edwin (or "Mr. K" to all who loved him), followed his own unique, artistic path. After graduating the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and a brief service in the post-WWI Navy, he returned to the company to help as he was able. With little inclination to the business end of things, Edwin found his joy and calling in the design of the furniture. Enamored of European design, Edwin began to guide the company toward more French, English and Italian influences in their products. Over the span of the next 65 years, this amazing talent came to fruition in the thousands of beautiful designs from the company. Influenced by his wife Evaline, one of the first women to open an interior design firm in the city and a pioneer in her own right, and his daughter, Joan, who lived in Italy after WWII, his prolific body of work guided the company away from more American products into the realm of true European classics. It was his inspired and brilliant leadership that brought the company to its world-renowned reputation for beautiful, classic furniture.
