Antique Furniture Shop – American Antique Furniture, a brief history…

The most highly desired antique American furniture was produced in the thirteen original colonies from the mid to late 17th Century through the early part of the 19th century.

The reason is because these pieces were impeccably hand made by skilled craftsmen in the finest colonial cabinet making shops. A number of these fabulous creations were even signed by their makers. The Goddard Townsend family of Newport, Rhode Island produced some of the most renowned and valuable pieces made during this period and a number of them were signed.

These pieces tend to get high-end auction houses like Sotheby’s really excited whenever  they come on the market. In fact, a single mahogany secretary bookcase made by Christopher Townsend in 1740 once sold at auction in New York for the astonishing sum of $8.25 million.

What makes period American furniture so unique and valuable?

If you’ve read Leigh and Leslie Keno’s book, Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture , you’re familiar with the passion period furniture pieces generate. If not, I believe it’s still available through major online booksellers, and definitely worth picking up if you want to learn more about antique furniture.

Lyn Sack Wall also discussed the merits of period furniture, in a guest feature here on About Antiques. As the niece of Albert Sack, who operates Sack Heritage Group as mentioned in the Keno’s book, she’s uniquely qualified to teach about this topic. “It takes more than being old to determine the value of an antique. Not only must an item be of high quality, it must have artistic merit,” Wall said. She also noted “there are many periods of antique furniture. The different periods and styles overlap.”

Wall emphasized that cabinetmakers didn’t stop making Queen Anne furniture on a specific date and start making Chippendale furniture the next day. Each subsequent period actually influenced the style of its successors. However, the major periods can be broken down into Colonial and Federal.

The Colonial period dates from around 1620 to 1780 and includes Jacobean, Queen Anne and Chippendale styles. The Federal period extends from 1780 through 1820 and incorporates Hepplewhite,
Sheraton and Classical styles. These styles are the epitome of American furniture design, and have been copied through the decades.

Who owned period pieces then? What about now? While we rarely run across these fine pieces now, you’ll find a number on display in museums. In fact, there are some lovely pieces on exhibit at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, including a fabulous shell carved chest crafted by John Townsend.

Colonial Williamsburg’s own cabinetmakers, in a shop where period reproductions are handmade while visitors watch, will tell you that the wealthier members of colonial society usually imported their furnishings from Europe. The consumers buying more ornately carved pieces of American furniture were from the up and coming middle class who wanted to display their new status.

These days it’s definitely only the privileged that can afford these beautiful examples of American craftsmanship. They often purchase them anonymously through phone bids in upscale auctions where prices can skyrocket in a matter of minutes.

What makes a masterpiece of furniture worthy of such attention? According to Wall, a piece must possess a “beauty and quality that transcends the bounds of the era or even the field of art it represents” to qualify for masterpiece status.

Even if you never find a period piece, why do you need to know about them? While you may never run across a piece of this caliber in your neighborhood, it certainly doesn’t hurt to learn all you can about the quality of fine American furniture. The more you know about craftsmanship and styles, the better you’ll be at separating the wheat from the chaff on your own antique furniture shopping adventures.

 Visit here if you’d like to shop for and buy antique American furniture.

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                                                                                                                           Queen Anne Style Furniture

If you are planning to shop for and buy antique furniture from America’s Colonial period – 1720 to 1750, there a certain things you should look for.

It’s amazing how easily experts are able to recognize pieces from a specific era or period. I will be concentrating here on how to recognize Queen Anne style furniture. There are specific proportions and designs that significantly relate to the last queen of the House of Stuarts?

Here are a few tips on how to recognize Queen Anne furniture: 

*Check the style of the feet… tables, a desks, chairs, etc. will all have pad feet. This more graceful style replaced the heavier look of the William and Mary style, which used the ball foot. At first, there was the cabriole leg terminating with either a plain, well-shaped Dutch foot or the carved webfoot, so-called for its remote resemblance to that of the barnyard waterfowl.

Variations of this leg and foot were used on chairs, tables, beds, day beds, desks, chests on frames, highboys, and lowboys. In fact, the majority of Queen Anne pieces had this pleasing detail, although a few simple ones were made with turned legs and button feet. Also, there was one other type of design that was very popular…this was the chair with turned front legs terminating in carved Flemish scrolls known as the Spanish foot.

 *Next, check the features and accents. Queen Anne furniture pieces usually have plain and unfussy shell and fan carvings. The top rails of chairs are  yoke shaped and the back portion often has a vase shape. Seats are normally shaped like a horseshoe. During earlier times, settees and sofas were not listed under the Queen Anne furniture and style; these pieces came in several years after.

In fact, as the Queen Anne period progressed, the chair became more and more skilfully designed and made. Instead of a straight-lined seat a curved one, wider at the front than at the back, came into vogue. The back with its vase-shaped central splat and crested and carved top was given an added vertical curve which made for both beauty and comfort.

But perhaps the high point of Queen Anne furniture was reached in the highboy, the lowboy, and the tea table with moulded top. These were also the background from which later came the elaborate pieces of the same sort liberally decorated with fine carving in the Chippendale period, which were without doubt the most beautiful ever made by American cabinetmakers.

*Once you are knowledgable about Queen Anne furniture, you will know that most of the furniture pieces are primarily made out of walnut, although some are made out of maple wood and cherry. Later in the period, furniture produced in this style was made out of imported mahogany. 

*Finally, the most predominant indicator that a piece was designed using the English monarch’s style is the use of cabriole legs.

Have a look at my website if you’d like to buy antique furniture. I have an extensive selection of antiques, furniture and accessories.

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Some of the most popular furniture pieces have always been formal antique dining tables. Just about everyone needs a dining table at one time or another.

In this post I will be focusing on formal antique dining tables. 

The most costly are those dating from approximately the 1760′s through to the early 1800′s.. They range in length from two to four pedestals and are usually rectangular in shape. The pedestals act as supports for additional leaves and also control how many leaves can be added to extend the table.

The more pedestals a table has, the longer it’s length and thus, the more desirable the table is. An example would be an antique double pedestal table from the 1790′s…the table would have one fixed leaf on each top of pedestal and, with the support of stretchers and clips or clamps, could take an additional leaf. The maximum length of a table like this would be approximately eight or so feet in length. 

Another important factor in making an antique dining table from this period very desirable and expensive would be the quality of the wood that was used, as well as the table’s utility. Additional pedestals can extend the length up to as much as twenty feet. We usually see extending tables that are made of mahogany, a durable, strong and very attractive wood .

All periods of antique furniture have different characteristics. The earlier antique Georgian and Victorian dining tables had pull-out mechanisms…a relatively simple construction that extends the table and allows additional leaves to be inserted by pulling the ends open.

Later Victorian antique dining tables were constructed with wind out mechanisms, allowing the tables to be opened by a winding handle. Many of the antique dining tables from those periods still exist today, are of superb quality and many still have their original leaves.

Buying an antique dining table can be a bit complex, as quality and costs for antique dining tables vary greatly. The most important elements to consider in pricing are: originality, length, width, period, wood quality and color.

As a general rule the earlier the antique dining table the higher the quality of the wood that was used. Tables that still have all their original leaves are rare and much more valuable, than those without any leaves or with replacement leaves.

The width of the table is important…where people are sitting opposite each other, there should be adequate room in the centre of the table. Look for tables 48 inches or more in depth. An antique dining table that is 42 inches deep would be worth less than half that of an identical table that is 48 inches deep. The length is also extremely important, with tables that sit 10 or more people very desirable. 

Here’s an estimated price guide:

Georgian pedestal tables – $15,000 – $200,000, could be even more, depending on the number of pedestals and leaves and the originality of table. Georgian pull-out tables – $10,000-$100,000 again, depending on length and condition. Victorian pull-out and wind out tables – $6000-$40,000 once again, depending on length and condition. 

With all the estimated prices given above, please note that exceptional wood quality, fine detailing, or provenance can make any antique dining table worth even more.

Antique dining tables is an important topic, and one I will address again in greater detail in later posts, but for now, an overview of the subject may provide some guidance to a prospective purchaser.

Visit my website if you’d like to buy an antique dining table; there are many to choose from…

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Have you ever noticed how the desks of professionals and executives can leave a lasting impression on us? An antique writing desk can create an image of expertise and authority when you are in an attorney or doctor’s office? We are left with an impression of that person that stays with us… 

We’ve found that American antique furniture closely follows English styles and periods. The following list will give you a brief history of the antique writing desk in America…

American styles:

THE OAK AGE (1540-1660)

THE WALNUT AGE (1660-1730)

THE MAHOGANY AGE (1730- 1840)

VICTORIAN AGE (1830- 1901)

American antique styles of desks are somewhat limited because it was colonized later. However, many American writing desks have European and Asian influences and generally follow traditional English styles with a few variations. American desks resemble English styles ie: Pilgrim, William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, Federal, Empire and Victorian.

 * Pilgrim (1640-1690) desk proportions are typically both heavy and simple, having carved relief as the primary ornamentation and constructed of pine or oak and joined by wooden pegs. Finding a genuine and all original 17th Century desk would be quite a” rare find”! Most of them have replaced parts and ornamentation.

 * William-and-Mary (1700-1730) these desks have dovetail joints, are more ornamental with carvings in high relief and the majority have bun feet. The proportions are generous with surfaces lacquered or veneered and usually decorated with ornate and detailed moldings. Mostly constructed of walnut, pine or maple.

 * Queen-Anne (1725-1755) desks are more refined with scrolled motifs and almost always have lacquer and cabriole legs and hooped seats. Constructed primarily of walnut, mahogany or cherry. 

 * Chippendale (1755-1790) desks reflect Chinese themes and motifs, usually feature C and S scrolls, Gothic arches and ball and claw feet. Almost all are constructed of southern or Cuban mahogany and is highly decorated. 

 * Federal (1788-1825) desks follow the designs of English designers Sheraton and Hepplewhite and feature Greek and Roman motifs, clean edges, and carvings of items such as cornucopias, eagles, and shields. Woods used were primarily cherry and walnut. The Federal period in the history of American furniture resulted in some of the most elegant, graceful and exquisite antique furniture in existence.

 *Empire (1820-1840) desks are large and lavish, but functional. The period known as “American Empire” somewhat continues the Federal period with a few distinct characteristics. American furniture makers withdrew from English influences, and were inspired by the Neoclassical, Grecian style of French designers of the French Empire period in France. First French, and then American, styles of decor were influenced by Napoleon’s admiration for the Roman Empire, his trip to Egypt, and several archaeological expeditions to Greece and Rome. 

The curved lines of ancient Greek furniture were used in legs of tables and chairs; classical motifs such as the lyre were used in decoration, and pillars and scrolls were often incorporated. Pillar and scroll style furniture is typical of the Empire period; this feature was not seen in early Federal furniture. The Pillar and Scroll style was very popular during this period, and there are many outstanding collectors items still in existence today.

 * Victorian (1840-1899) desks have many moldings, turned legs, and heavy and imposing design elements, rounded, with ample ornament, decoration, curves, and gloss. The Gothic revival style was probably the most “important” while the exuberant Rococo revival may have been the most popular. Mahogany and rosewood were the preferred woods with oak making something of a comeback.

I hope you found this post useful and come back for more soon!

Please visit my website if you would like to view my large inventory of antique writing desks.

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