One lot consisting of three bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine (French, 2000 vintage), is one of the highlights of the fine wine auction, to be held Dec. 3 by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales.

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – Nearly 650 mostly fresh-to-the-market lots in a dizzying array of categories—including a session dedicated specifically to fine wine—will be offered at a two-session weekend sale slated for Dec. 3-4 by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales. The auction will be conducted in the firm’s new, state-of-the-art gallery at 620 Cornerstone Court. Online bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.

“We have been fortunate to be concluding a terrific year in what has been an admittedly down economy,” said Leland Little of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales. “In fact, we posted back-to-back record quarters, and for that we’re very proud. The team has worked hard all year, and this December sale is another reflection of our ability to attract quality consignments.”

The action will kick off Friday evening, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. (with a preview lasting all day) with a session solely populated with bottles of fine wine—a category the firm has carefully nurtured along in recent sales. Expected top achievers will include two lots of three bottles each of Chateau Lafite Rothschild (French, 2000) and two case lots of 12 bottles of Chateau Haut-Brion (French, 1982).

Then, on Saturday morning, Dec. 4, close to 580 lots will come under the gavel. Period American furniture will feature a Federal mahogany drop-leaf library table from the shop of Duncan Phyfe (circa 1810-1830), a late 18th century Chippendale mahogany kneehole desk made in New York, a walnut Southern cellaret on frame made around 1800 and with a cataloging label from the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), a North Carolina walnut and pine chest of drawers crafted circa 1820 in Orange County, a late 18th century walnut with cedar secondary Southern inlaid center table from eastern North Carolina, and a southern Hepplewhite cellaret made in Virginia circa 1800.

Continental furniture will be no less impressive. Offerings will include a diminutive inlaid marble-top French abattant made from mahogany and other light and dark woods in the early 19th century, a Louis XV-style bureau plat with a tooled black leather top over a concave skirt with three side-by-side drawers, a pair of Louis XVI-style screens with Fortuny cotton fabric in a printed yellow damask design, an important English Sheraton satinwood veneer Pembroke table from the 18th century accented with rosewood and oak, and a Continental carved gilt wood large wall panel in the Rococo form, 18th century or earlier, large at 9 feet, 6 inches by 5 feet, 3 inches.

Asian objects will be served up in abundance. Sample lots include a Chinese Export orange Fitzhugh pattern platter made for the American market with an eagle and streamer depiction, a monumental 36-inch tall Imari covered temple jar from the Meiji period with ovoid tapered form, a Satsuma “Thousand Face” covered urn in hexagonal form and supported by three shaped feet, an amazing antique Chinese tester bed made in the late 19th century of mahogany with bone and lighter wood inlays, a bronze and gilt bronze Southeast Asian standing Buddha likely made in the 18th century, and a late 19th-century Burmese gilt lacquered Buddha from the Sakyamuni Mandalay period.

Other Asian lots worthy of mention include a group of three late 19th-century Chinese Export famille rose plaques, a Japanese ivory female Samurai warrior, a pair of 19th-century ivory cane handles, a Japanese ivory and wood figural group from the Meiji period (circa 1870), an antique Asian carved ivory hand fan of fourteen overlapping panels, a signed Japanese ivory skeleton Okimono, and a pair of early 20th-century Japanese polychrome Samurai figures.

This oil on canvas painting by Albert Dawant (Fr., 1852-1923) of Napoleon addressing his troops is just one piece of many Continental works of fine art available.

Continental works of fine art are certain to get paddles wagging. These include an oil on canvas by Albert Dawant (Fr., 1852-1923), signed lower right and depicting a stoic Napoleon addressing his troops before battle (and housed in a period frame of excellent quality), a shipwreck oil on canvas in the style of Joseph Vernet (Fr., 1714-1789), a signed and dated oil on canvas of birds in a landscape by Abraham Bisschop (1660-1731), and a pair of pictures by Abraham Hulk I (Br., 1813-1897), signed lower left and housed in fine period gilt wood frames.

Works by American artists will also be very much in evidence. Offerings include an oil on board lake scene by John Ross Key (Md./D.C., 1837-1920, the grandson of Francis Scott Key, who wrote The Star Spangled Banner), two lots comprising five North Carolina-themed etchings on wove paper by Louis Orr (Conn./Fr., 1879-1961), a pencil-signed Jugtown etching by Antoinette Rhett (S.C., 1884-1964), a numbered, titled and signed woodcut by Anna Heyward Taylor (S.C., 1879-1956), a Raritan sketchbook filled with 48 mostly pencil and ink sketches by Francis Speight (N.C., 1896-1989), a signed oil on board rendering of a meandering stream by Robert E. Owen (N.Y., 1878-1957), and works of note by David B. Walkley (Oh./Conn., 1849-1934), William Lester Stevens (Mass., 1888-1969) and Samuel Dyke (Pa., 1834-1870), who will have two paintings in the auction.

Statuary and bronzes will feature a large antique Italian blackamoor carving with polychrome decoration (circa 18th century or earlier), a patinated terracotta sculptural group titled “La Source,” signed and dated by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (Fr., 1824-1877), an Art Deco figural depiction of a serenade by Roland Paris (Ger., 1894-1915), a bronze statue titled Student Athlete by R. Tait McKenzie (Pa., 1867-1938), and a realistic lost wax method cast bronze rendering of three pigs reveling in a mud puddle by Andre Harvey (Del., b. 1941).

This Victorian diamond and pearl portrait bangle bracelet depicting female portraits on ivory leads the fine estate jewelry section of the auction.

Fine estate jewelry is always a crowd-pleaser, and this sale’s got a lot of it. Examples include a Victorian diamond and pearl portrait bangle bracelet with a wide-hinge oval shape showing two detailed painted female portraits on ivory under a clear glass frame, a custom-made diamond bypass solitaire ring signed by Thibodeau and centering on a round brilliant partial bezel set in the center, an 18kt gold gentleman’s Rolex perpetual date watch with 54 round and baguette diamonds, a very rare (only 100 made) Breitling SuperOcean Heritages chronograph watch (numbered 95/100), and a very fine diamond ring set with a gorgeous emerald cut diamond weighing about 1.68 carats.

Other jewelry by makers of note will include a set of gold and diamond earclips by Danken, a fine diamond line bracelet by J.B. Star, a diamond dome ring by Kurt Wayne, a gold motion ring by N. Teufel, a “Happy Diamonds” ring and a sapphire and diamond ring by Chopard, a Pave diamond ring and a pair of Infinity earclips by David Yurman, and three offerings from Henry Dunay: a pair of hammered gold earclips, a beautifully hammered gold ring and a gold and diamond bracelet.

A pair of George III entree dishes and covers bearing the mark of Paul Storr (London, 1799).

Continental sterling silver will also glimmer and shine throughout the day. Anticipated top earners include a pair of George III entrée dishes and covers bearing the sponsor’s mark for Paul Storr (London, 1799), a George III sterling silver waiter with the sponsor’s mark for Thomas Hannom and John Crouch (London, 1798), a George IV sterling silver tray with armorial crest (London, 1814), a five-piece George IV sterling silver tea and coffee service (London, 1820s), and a Danish silver tea urn in the Regency style, dated 1908 and marked Michelsen, Copenhagen. American silver pieces and sets will be sold by manufacturers such as Towle, Gorham, Tiffany, Alvin, Reed & Barton and Durgin.

From the china and porcelains group, two pieces stand out. One is a Meissen porcelain figural group with a large pagoda figure shown seated on a floral strewn base, with a parrot perched on a stump by his knee. It’s unusual because it combines Meissen with Asian, two elements desired by collectors. The other piece is a 20th-century porcelain amphora bust of a lady. The Teplitz Austrian Art Nouveau, in overall remarkable condition for such a delicate piece, is marked “Rstk Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel.”

Historical items will feature a signed photograph of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd president of the United States (1885-89) in overall very good condition, a one-page document signed by John Hay, the Secretary of State, dated Jan. 5, 1905, a Republican Party campaign circular for Ulysses S. Grant titled “The Party of Freedom and Its Candidates – The Duty of the Colored Voter,” and a rare set of North Carolina election tickets for 1868, providing Republican and Democratic Party listings of all state and local candidates for the time.

Militaria items will include a North Carolina Confederate’s archive with images and another one with Manassas (Va.) letters, a pair of Arkansas-to-North Carolina Civil War letters, one lot of three North Carolina Confederate documents, a North Carolina Confederate officer tintype with 1864 letter, and two lengthy North Carolina Confederate soldiers’ letters, as one lot.

This monumental 8-gallon jar was thrown by the renowned 19th century potter Dave the Slave, dated 1857.

Fans of Southern pottery will not be disappointed, beginning with the monumental Dave the Slave 8-gallon jar (Edgefield, S.C., 1857), ovoid form with applied wide ear handles and with a direct line of descent to the original owner. Other pottery pieces of note will include a salt glazed stoneware storage jar by Nicholas Fox (Chatham City., N.C., 1797-1858), and a Chinese blue Han earthenware vase crafted by Ben Owen, master potter, circa 1960. Also offered will be glazed Auman Pottery bowls and vases by C.B. Masten (N.C., circa 1928-1930).

Vintage lighting will illuminate the crowd, as well as the room. The brightest star in the constellation promises to be a fine Continental Georgian-style crystal chandelier from the 19th century with ten lights draped with cut crystal swags and five upper bell form cut crystal arms with ornate prism mounts. Other lots will feature a 19th-century bell form Empire-style crystal chandelier with multiple strands of crystals and twelve scrolled candle arms, and a pair of late 19th-century blown glass English three-light glass candelabra.

Art glass will feature a signed Quezal pulled feather trumpet vase from the early 20th century, plus examples by makers like Baccarat, Clark, Salviati, Lobmeyer, Steuben and Loetz. Persian rugs will include a very fine and large antique Indian-Agra wool carpet, Amristar style with an overall pattern and floral center design (17 feet, 9 inches by 11 feet, 7 inches). And fans of vintage toys and mechanical banks will be excited to see pieces by J. & E. Stevens, Kenton, Henry Chart and others.

Rounding out the day’s list of expected top lots is a 1929-30 Notre Dame champions rectangular pennant made of felt, a Mariano Fortuny (Italian) pleated silk Delphos tea gown made in the 1920s, weighted and edged with white Murano glass beads over a tunic forming points at the sided and center, and a small rectangular form North Carolina leather key basket with provenance and of tooled line decoration and rolled handle with decorative metal fixtures at the base.

For more information about this auction, call 919.644.1243, e-mail to info [at] LLAuctions [dot] com or visit the Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Web site.

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This metal emblem was used by members of the Grand Rapids Furniture Makers Guild, beginning in 1931, to certify each individual piece of furniture by number as having been made by a Guild member.

Furniture making in America in the 19th century ranged from the small shop, like that of Duncan Phyfe in downtown New York at the turn of the century, to the huge factories of Grand Rapids and Buffalo at the turn of the next century. Phyfe was one of the rare early century cabinetmakers who actually used paper labels and tags to identify some of his work. In fact, some items can be dated by the address on the label since his shops constantly expanded and the streets were renamed. But most makers of the early period either scrawled their name or mark under a drawer somewhere or didn’t bother to mark their products at all.

Beginning around mid-century, the advent of the factory system meant most furniture was made in a commercial facility under the auspices of a company name and very few individual craftsmen labeled their product. Even the companies of the time were a little lax in marking the work. By the end of the century, people like Gustav Stickley and the major manufacturers in Grand Rapids, Cincinnati and Chicago had developed elaborate logos and trademarks and few quality items escaped some sort of identification. This has been a boon to modern collectors, giving them the start of a trail of clues to establish age and origin of older furniture.

But like so many things of the 20th century, what started as a simple method of marking furniture quickly became confusing by the second decade. Finding a label on a piece of furniture now means that the collector has to know what kind of label it is to decipher its meaning.

Labels found on 20th-century furniture generally fall into three categories—Manufacturers, Retailers and Associations.

Manufacturers’ Labels:

This is who actually produced the furniture, from a design to a finished product. Many manufacturers had clues in the names themselves that left no doubt as to their identity. One of these was Colonial Manufacturing Co. of Zeeland, Mich., a famous maker of hall clocks. Another was Green Manufacturing of Chicago, a maker of parlor frames for the custom trade. The use of the word “manufacturing” in the company name was unambiguous about what the company did. Other company names, however, were less straightforward. Even some of the best known makers, such as Berkey & Gay, Century and Phoenix used only the term “Furniture Co.” in their official names. To the uninformed, this could be the name of a retail furniture store rather than a maker. Some specialty factories were a little better, including their main product in the name, such as Sikes Chair Co. in Buffalo or the Grand Rapids Desk Co. These offer a slightly more solid reference to the company as a maker and not a retailer.

Some variation of this Mersman Brothers label appeared on more than 30,000,000 tables made by the company.

The “Quaint” trade name was so popular for Stickley Brothers that it used it for various lines of furniture for more than 30 years.

This is the famous coin-style label used by Berkey & Gay in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Cutler Desk Co. of Buffalo used this escutcheon plate for its label.

This is a very early label for Heywood-Wakefield, circa 1921, when the name was first used after the reorganization.

This was the last variation of the Flint label in the early 1930s ,when the company was a retailer.

Retailers:

Around the turn of the 20th century, the largest furniture retailer of self-labeled goods was Sears & Roebuck. Sears didn’t actually make any of its own products in its own factory. The company was strictly a retailer. It sometimes did have manufacturers make a specially designed line of certain items for it, but the mark on the furniture was always from Sears. This was also a common practice in the piano industry. A major store would have a promotional line of instruments made with its name on it, omitting the name of the manufacturer. That practice was called “stenciling” and is still in use today both in pianos and in furniture.

Another famous name found in furniture that is often believed to be that of a manufacturer is “John Stuart, Inc.” But John Stuart was a high-end retail showroom in Grand Rapids and New York that sold quality products made by, but unlabeled by, a number of manufacturers in Grand Rapids.

One clue that a company is a retailer and not a maker is the inclusion of another product line. An example is Hartman Furniture and Carpet Co. of Chicago. The inclusion of “carpet” is a dead giveaway. Hartman bought furniture from a number of factories, but when it was sold it carried only Hartman’s name. The same is true if the name of the company includes terminology like “department store” used by Federated.

A little more difficult to identify are companies that were at one time a manufacturer but later became a retailer or department store. One such example is the firm of Flint and Horner. George C. Flint was a mid-19th century cabinetmaker whose business was acquired by R.J. Horner around the turn of the 20th century. Flint and Horner became a well known maker of early Depression-era furniture, but sometime later it ceased manufacturing and became a broad based retailer in New York.

At then time this label was used in the early 20th century Robert J. Horner was both a manufacturer and a retailer.

By the time this label was used, Horner was no longer making furniture and was just a retailer.

Associations:

Sometimes, the only label found in a piece is that of a trade association or guild. The most famous of these is the ubiquitous “Mahogany Association” that many collectors mistakenly believe to be a company name. Around the turn of the 20th century, aniline dyes were introduced into the American furniture market. This new tool for coloring wood produced some very confusing results. With anilines, almost any wood could look like almost anything else. The most common use was to make secondary woods like gum, poplar and birch look like more expensive woods, such as walnut and mahogany. Without proper labeling, it was easy to confuse the consumer.

As the furniture industry got organized early in the century, a number of promotional organizations took form. One of the umbrella groups was the Hardwood Manufacturers Association, based in Memphis, Tenn. It had several “service bureaus” within it to promote different woods. Among them were the Oak Bureau and the Gumwood Bureau. In addition, there was a separate American Walnut Manufacturers Association based in Chicago, the Northern Hard Maple Manufacturers in Oshkosh, Wis., and the Birch Manufacturers, also in Oshkosh. And, of course, there was the Mahogany Association in Chicago, which issued decals to assure a customer that the furniture was in fact “genuine mahogany” and not a cheap substitute.

This Mahogany Association label bears the number 123: the member number of the Imperial Furniture Co of Grand Rapids.

This mark was used by members of the Furniture Manufacturers Association of Grand Rapids between 1899 and 1913 to identify true “Grand Rapids Made” furniture and to differentiate it from imposters of the period.

Information Labels:

Some labels were designed to convey more than just a name or association. These labels have a story to tell.

In 1866, when George Clark developed a thread that was strong enough to be used in the newly invented mechanical sewing machine, he didn’t have a name for it. He simply called it “Our New Thread” and the initials “ONT” became a staple on thread cabinets after that.

This unusual label was found on the inside of a cabinet. It is not the label of the manufacturer but the label of the maker of the machinery that made the drawer joinery in the cabinet.

This label, from the famous maker of Arts & Crafts furniture, the Charles P. Limbert Co., was used to announce that D. B. K. Van Raalte had assumed control of the company after the death of Limbert in 1923.

The new version of the Hitchcock Company, formed in the late 1940s, used a distinctive label to make sure it was never confused with an original Hitchcock piece. The new label used backwards “N’s” in the label, something never used in the original Hitchcock labels of the 1830s.

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

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Send your comments, questions and pictures to me at PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or info [at] furnituredetective [dot] com.

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 [at] furnituredetective [dot] com.

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An example of a mahogany card or gaming table with one board top from the late 18th century. The table has stitch inlay on the edge of the leaves and cuffing on the tapered legs. The secondary woods are poplar and white pine. The table is believed to Salem, Massachusetts-made, circa 1790.

When you think of a card table, does your mind take you back to those cheaply made vinyl-covered wood metal contraptions with the folding legs that our mothers and grandmothers played bridge and pinochle on.

It wasn’t always like that. Card tables of the 18th and 19th centuries were elegant pieces of fine cabinetry. Like other fine period furniture, only the best woods were used and the tables were meant to be seen… not folded and stored in a closet.

Gambling and games were popular pastimes in 18th-century England, and to the wealthy and aristocracy, card tables were an important piece of furniture. So much so that several such tables could be found in a single home. Sometimes, depending on the size of the home, it would not be unheard of to find from six to 12 in the salon and drawing room alone. By the late 18th century, these card tables they were equally popular in America.

The designs have changed over the years, beginning during the Queen Anne age, then taking on Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles. American forms differed from the English versions in the type of foot, leg and style of decorative motifs. The Queen Anne and Chippendale tops were covered with cloth. Sheraton and Hepplewhite had folding tops so when open or closed, the top was finished.

This may look like an ordinary drop leaf table, but it has a unique mechanical feature. The table was originally designed for card or game playing. This card table has an inset leather top. When the leaves are down, it only measures 12 and a half inches wide. By raising both leaves at the same time, two legs are spring-loaded and automatically swing out to support the leaves. Circa 1880.

Since there were few books in Colonial America, and little in the way of entertainment, card games and gambling weren’t considered a vice or a serious addiction, but rather a life style. The card table played an important role in pre-revolutionary America. Women, as well as men, took part in game playing.

Because of their popularity card tables were often made in pairs, one with baize for card games and one without for tea or other purposes. Among the several basic styles were circular tripod, square and pedestal tables.

In America, New York card tables were made with five legs in the first quarter of the 19th century. Other examples were made in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Massachusetts.

Clues: There are many ways to tell not only English from American card tables, but who made them and where. It was the custom for these tables to be labeled with the maker’s name. They can also be attributed to a certain region by the woods, veneering and style of carving.

Some of the tops of the Hepplewhite style tables were decorated in the so-called “clover-leaf” pattern that consisted of five sections of circles of different sizes, giving a scalloped look. Duncan Phyfe, who is best known for his later lyre pedestal designs, also made this type when it was in fashion.

A 19th-century rosewood fold-over continental card table, standing on slender cabriole legs, with carvings to the toes. The table is fitted with carved center drawer, fitted with a lock and key. The open top is lined with brown baise.

The most common style used in Hepplewhite and Sheraton card tables was the square shape that folded into a rectangle. It had four legs and the front was veneered, often in contrasting woods such as satinwood. Inlays were used in the center, sometimes with patriotic motifs. Legs were straight or reeded.

Reproductions of the square Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles began to appear in the 1920s, with phony maker labels glued on. The tip-off was often when they stated that this was a numbered piece out of so many made. Another tip would be looking underneath for early saw marks and planing.

By 1810-15, the fashion was for the heavier Empire look often associated with Duncan Phyfe. They were on lyre or tripod bases, and often had gilt, animal paw metal feet. Bases were often heavily carved.

By the Victorian age—the mid 19th century—card tables continued to follow the fashions. Rococo revival called for rosewood. The folding tops were baize-lined.

In the early 20th century, the Art Nouveau style card table was being made by the Tobey Furniture company in Chicago.

A William IV Rosewood Card Table, circa 1825.

By the 1950s and ’60s, those folding vinyl, pressboard and metal contraptions were all the rage, trading style and sturdy structure for the convenience of being able to stick it in the closet when the night’s card party was done.

Still, 18th- and 19th-century card tables still turn up at auctions, shows and shops, so be on the lookout.

— by Anne Gilbert

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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 [at] furnituredetective [dot] com.

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Owning a piece of the past, however, is often an expensive proposition—even a luxury in some cases—and most of us cannot afford to own something of significant size or extreme value if it does not contribute something concrete to our lives; something more substantial than the esoteric “feel good” things we often associate with the ownership of antiques. This is especially true of older and antique furniture.

Furniture in its barest form is functional sculpture. The key word here is “functional.” Furniture is made for a specific purpose to fit in our daily lives. It may be no more than a box to put our clothes in or frame upon which to rest our frame at night. But whatever it is, it was first built to fill a physical need. The beauty and art must come later.

This is a nicely made 1920s era Victrola cabinet.

With a little work and no damage to the cabinet, it can be fitted to hold audio equipment; its original intended use.

This is especially true when the piece of furniture is not a Federal Pembroke table from New York, ca 1800, worth many thousands of dollars, but is a second- or third-generation, machine-made, factory-produced, American Empire drop-leaf lamp table, circa 1900, worth only a few hundred dollars at best. You may really like the dark rich mahogany veneer on the lamp table and admire the solid feel of the thick brass lock in the top drawer, but that broken base that makes the whole table tipsy is starting to bother you, not to mention putting the $500 lamp in jeopardy.

And as nice as the lamp table is,, and as much as you admire the style and historic references incorporated into it (Duncan Phyfe, Honore’ Lannuier et. al.), you can acquire a brand-new, very nice looking and most important of all—stable—new lamp table at the mall for about what you paid for the Empire piece, or less. In other words, the Empire piece is no longer fulfilling its prime function: that of providing a stable platform and is being tolerated merely for its form.

Don’t do it! If you like the lamp table, for whatever reason, invest in getting the old one properly repaired—for less than the cost of the new table—but get it done before you break both the table and the lamp beyond repair. If you don’t want to invest more money in the old piece then sell it, at a bargain, to someone who will. They aren’t making those old tables anymore and when they are broken beyond repair that’s one less there will ever be.

If this old Empire Revival table is not strong enough to support the lamp, be prepared to: 1) properly repair the table; 2) replace the table, or; 3) replace the lamp.

The same especially holds true for chests of drawers. Most of us confront a chest at least once daily to retrieve clothes and other personal items. Is it one of those transparent events in your life that you barely notice, or is it a struggle to be dreaded with drawers that are either stuck shut or falling out? Older chests are notorious for recalcitrant drawers, and drawers that have problems like this are creating other problems for the older or antique chest. Prominent among the secondary problems is the chipping of veneer on the lower rail, the horizontal piece below the drawer.

Also, if the drawer sides are worn and allow the front of the drawer to hit the rail each time it closes, it damages the veneer or at least the finish on the rail. It probably is also wearing a notch in the rail at the corners. Tugging at stuck drawers eventually will weaken the case structure and will cause the pull or hardware to break sooner or later. Don’t continue to frustrate yourself and cause further harm to the chest. If you like the piece, have it repaired so that it is functional as well as old and pretty. Be aware that drawer repair is often a difficult job and usually requires some work inside the case. It may be expensive, but a good professional repair will add many decades to the life of the piece and increase the quality of your daily life.

The channel gouged in the lower rail below this drawer and the loose veneer on the side are early warning signs that this drawer has problems. Fix it.

This drawer has already been repaired with an extra piece added to the bottom of the side.

Older beds are notorious for being less than stable sleeping platforms. If your antique bed wakes you at night with its squeaks and groans, get some help before it dumps you on the floor. Most truly old beds are assembled with some type of bolt arrangement and the fix may be as simple as tightening the hardware. Twentieth-century beds with hooks, rather than bolts, are harder to repair but it can be done. The most important item of bed care is not to attempt to move a bed ANY distance at all—even just two inches—with just one person. It takes two no matter how strong you are because you can’t drag a bed. It must be carried. A bed frame is built to withstand downward pressure, not lateral pull. But whatever it takes, either fix it or get rid of it!

Sometimes a bed repair is as easy as tightening a bolt like on this Empire bed.

The last category of chronic disrepair is chairs. Probably more than 50 percent of all older and antique chairs that you will ever see are loose and in need of repair; most of them not for the first time. Virtually all chairs that have legs entering the seat bottom, especially Windsors, are loose somewhere, as are most turn-of-the-century oak press backs. The longer you wait to have them repaired the less likely you are of getting a good repair. Eventually, they are not worth the cost of making the broken pieces from scratch or not repairable at all.

Upholstered chairs and sofas are almost as bad. When a spring goes or webbing starts to poke out the bottom, its way past time to visit an upholstery shop. Continued use with broken springs and rotten webbing places undue strain on the frame of the chair and the longer you wait to fix the upholstery the more likely you will need to fix the frame too.

In other words, make your antiques work for you and pay their way as functional pieces. It usually costs less to repair an antique than it does to buy a new piece, and the satisfaction of owning an older piece that actually functions well generally exceeds the cost of repair.

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

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Visit Fred’s website at http://www.furnituredetective.com/. His book “How To Be A Furniture Detective” is now available for $18.95 plus $3.00 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 [at] furnituredetective [dot] com.