This assortment of 20th-century casters present more problems than solutions for most homeowners.

One of the mysteries of the universe to me is “Why do so many 20th century pieces of furniture have wheels or casters on them?” A clue of sorts can be found in the generic name of many early 20th century items, those that are known as “Colonial Revival.” These pieces are modern replays of generally 18th-century North American furniture originals, which in their own right often owe their existence to earlier European styles, but that’s another story.

In the 18th century, carpet and other floor coverings were in much less general use than in the 20th century, and as such, floor care did not consist of carpet sweeping so much as the mopping of wooden or stone floors. Brass casters and forks or porcelain wheels served as lifts to keep the furniture off the floors during mopping so if the piece did get wet, it was the brass wheels and not the wood that had to deal with the moisture. The small wheels also were useful in moving heavier pieces small distances around the floor for cleaning purposes. But that was then and things are different now.

Carpeting and area rugs have been in general use for most of this century so the floor thing is no longer a valid reason for wheels. The truth is, I think, wheels just became a stylistic item with no real function other than to emulate earlier period styles. Then Art Deco added wheels in some cases as purely style innovations, for they were not emulating anybody!

The problem with these stylistic devices is that they often become a problem in their own right. Sooner or later, if a piece has wheels on it, someone is going to try to roll it across the carpet in order to clean around or behind it and then the problem starts. The 1-inch diameter wheels common on most 20th century pieces are really not built for speed. In fact, they are hardly built at all, and a close examination of the wheels and their support structure will reveal very lightweight materials and less than rugged manufacturing specs. The legs in which these casters are installed are very often painfully slender and frequently made of poplar, which tends to weaken over time as it dries out. This combination of design and structure often results in cracked or broken legs when the piece is rolled. In addition to leg wear-and-tear, the case structure of these pieces can take a beating as they are twisted and turned by the uneven rolling process.

After only a few trips around the room, cases need to be repaired because drawers no longer fit and doors don’t work due the torque applied to the main body. The long-term results of casters in beds is even more apparent. The stems of the casters are built to swivel in a metal sleeve in the wood, and the wheel itself is mounted on a fork in such a way as to be off center of the stem so that the effect of the wheel is to never provide a stable foundation for the leg. When a bed sits on four unstable foundations it will tend to move slightly with each nocturnal twist and eventually the side rails begin to fit not as snugly as they should and the joints in the bed frame itself begin to work loose. And each little loosening makes every other joint a little looser.

So what is the solution? If the piece is a 20th century piece, get rid of the wheels. Just take ’em off. Their absence will not detract from the value of the piece unless it is a very rare collector’s item and will in the long term aid in the preservation of the piece. This of course does not apply to Victorian furniture or to almost all other 19th- or 18th-century pieces. The only other time you need to be concerned about removing the wheels is on a table where height is very important. A 20th century dining table always has a height of 29 1/2 to 30 ½ inches, without exception. This is also standard writing surface height and a variation of even an inch or two is very noticeable. Such a height variation however is not critical to a chest of drawers, vanity, bed or china cabinet.

The wheels themselves are generally easily removable, either by just pulling them out of their sleeves or by using a screw driver to pry them out. But that still leaves metal sleeves in the legs to rust on your carpet or scratch your tile or wood floors. Removing the sleeves is not quite as easy a removing the wheels, especially if they have rusted in place a little.

The simple way to removal is to drive a wide bladed screw driver into the sleeve (be careful not to get carried away and split the leg) and turn the screw driver using a wrench or vice-grips. The sleeve should break loose inside and start to spin. As it spins retract the screw driver and the sleeve will come with it. If that fails, use an electric drill with a 3/8-inch bit to slowly start the sleeve moving and it should come out. If all else fails just drill it out! After the sleeve is out glue a 3/8-inch dowel in the hole, trim it flush with the leg and install a nylon tip in the end of the dowel. No more rust and no more roll. Now the temptation to “grocery cart” a nice piece of furniture has been removed and it will be much happier in the long run.

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Fred Taylor is a Worthologist who specializes in American furniture from the Late Classicism period (1830-1850).

Visit Fred’s website at www.furnituredetective.com. His book “How To Be A Furniture Detective” is now available for $18.95 plus $3 shipping. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.

Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, “Identification of Older & Antique Furniture,” ($17 + $3 S&H) and a bound compilation of the first 60 columns of “Common Sense Antiques,” by Fred Taylor ($25 + $3 S&H) are also available at the same address. For more information call 800-387-6377, fax 352-563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.com.

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Let’s start with one of North America’s oldest furniture styles, the so-called Pilgrim or Puritan style, beginning in the early 1600s. Most of the folks of this period were VERY recent arrivals and the furniture they crafted for themselves had a very familiar look to it. After taking into account what might be called “regional influences”—meaning the Colonies—the style itself is essentially “Jacobean,” that catch-all Latin term referring to England in the time of King James I, Charles I, the Commonwealth, the Restoration, Charles II and James II. In other words, most of the 17th century until William and Mary came along, circa. 1688. The furniture was blocky, big, solid, dark and ungainly, mostly made of oak—just like at home. The Colonists were true to their heritage.

Early in the 18th century the effects of the William and Mary reign became felt in American furniture thought. It took a few years to get here, but the Colonies always lagged behind, transportation being what it was. The Dutch craftsmen employed by William introduced a new, lighter, more comfortable form with bun—or Spanish—feet, elegant turnings and decorations and teardrop pulls, and they influenced Colonial furniture in turn. Some of America’s most prized antiques are Colonial interpretations of William and Mary.

This William & Mary highboy shows the verticality of the new form in the late 17th century.

After William’s death in 1702, Mary’s little sister Anne became Queen of England and the Colonies dutifully imported (belatedly of course) the newest style named after the new queen. The QA style was slim and elegant with graceful curves, subtle decoration, slipper or pad feet and valanced skirts, all in all a very feminine form. This English style also created some of America’s most cherished works.

Just as Thomas Chippendale borrowed the QA style in 1750, adding dog ears, pierced splats and heavy acanthus carving and calling it his own, the Colonies borrowed the new style from Thomas and used it right into the Revolution, being careful not to call it “Georgian,” as the later version of the style was known in England.

A Philadelphia chair circa 1776 shows the rococo changes Chippendale made to the basic Queen Anne chair.

At long last, the Revolution! Surely, this called for a new American styling and so it was called “Federal,” in honor of the new country based on federal, rather than royal principles. So who were the great designers and builders of America’s new furniture? Among the strong stylistic influences were George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton, respected English designers of the period. Also prominent were the Adam brothers, Robert and James, Scottish architects greatly influenced by first century Roman architecture.

The end of a D-end Federal period banquet table shows the influence of Thomas Sheraton in the tapered legs.

On this side of the Atlantic, the best known practitioner of Federal was the Scotsman residing in New York named Duncan Phyfe, whose work was influenced by the early traditional English designers, but also by the Directoire and Empire of France and the Regency of England. Phyfe’s contemporary, Charles-Honore’ Lannuier, recently arrived from France and worked in the Directoire and later Empire field as his contribution to Federal furniture.

By the end of the first quarter of the 19th century, the facade of Federal had fallen to the unabashed Europhile Empire style; Napoleon’s only lasting positive contribution to the world. He had directed his architects to develop a new style for his “Empire,” which they enthusiastically did, combining classical motifs from Egypt and Greece with animistic additions such as carved animal feet and wings. Napoleon of course didn’t make it, but his style survived in England, modified only slightly, as Regency, and in America first as Empire and then in later versions as “Late Classicism” or “Restauration” as late as mid-century.

This classic Empire chair was made by Duncan Phyfe, circa 1820. (Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences photo).

Victoria became queen of England in 1837, and that started a 60-year binge of digging up and recycling styles of the past, politely called “revivals” under the umbrella label of “Victorian,” and America joined the bandwagon. Major revivals of style included Rococo-Louis XV, the revival of a phase of European art of the 18th century featuring rocks (rocailles) and shells (coquilles), Renaissance, a revival of 15th and 16th century Italian styles, Gothic, a revival of 15th century styles which was itself a revival of the 9th century as well as other lesser known revivals.

This chair by Belter illustrates the decorative flavor of the Rococo Revival of the mid 19th century.

A Renaissance Revival bed, circa 1875, reflects the architectural element of the style.

It also included a newer form based on the architectural concepts of an Englishman named Charles Locke Eastlake, whose idea of linear simplicity was driven to absurdity by American factory designers.

A reaction to all this elaborate revival erupted in Europe in the late 19th century, led mainly by William Morris in England and produced the Arts and Crafts movement, quickly embraced in America by Elbert Hubbard who started the Roycroft colony in Aurora, New York, by the Stickley family and by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Thus, it appears that for most of America’s existence, we have mooched our styles from abroad. Then, at last, came the great American contribution to American furniture: In the latter part of the 19th century we started to reproduce our own borrowed history and in the process accidentally produced the one true American style—Colonial Revival.

This 1930s table shows the creative redesign of Colonial styles in this Colonial Revival Depression era interpretation of the Jacobean style. This was our new style.

Fred Taylor is a Worthologist who specializes in American furniture from the Late Classicism period (1830-1850).

Visit Fred’s website at www.furnituredetective.com. His book “How To Be A Furniture Detective” is now available for $18.95 plus $3 shipping. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.

Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, “Identification of Older & Antique Furniture,” ($17 + $3 S&H) and a bound compilation of the first 60 columns of “Common Sense Antiques,” by Fred Taylor ($25 + $3 S&H) are also available at the same address.

For more information call 800-387-6377, fax 352-563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.com.

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