Antique Furniture

The Wassily Chair: Popular & Valuable

2009-02-14T17:01:00Z

Examples of architect Marcel Breuer’s designs for seating are sought by museums as well as private collectors. Still fresh and relevant after 80 years, Breuer’s classic designs for seating find an eager audience, as both museums and collectors are willing to pay substantial prices for original models. Designed in 1925, the Wassily Chair is perhaps Breuer’s best known work. Originally called B3, the name was changed to honor painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). The Wasily chair is still in production and is available in a wide range of prices with the earliest models bringing thousands and thousands. Read more about Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair.

The Eames 670 Lounge Chair and Ottoman

2009-01-12T23:45:00Z

Working for the Herman Miller Furniture Company, husband and wife design team Ray and Charles Eames designed many seating classics, but probably their most well-known is the 670 Lounge Chair and Ottoman.

Originally made of Rosewood veneered plywood, button tufted leather upholstery, down-filled cushions and arm rests, and mounted on five-prong aluminum bases, the chairs have been in almost continuous production since their introduction in 1956. The design won the Milan Triennale in 1957, and is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The chair and ottoman weren't originally intended for mass production. The prototype was designed as a birthday gift for Eames family friend film director Billy Wilder. The Eamses goal had been to make a chair with the warm receptive look of a well-worn first baseman's mitt.

In 1990, Brazilian Rosewood was added to the endangered species list, and the chair is now made in walnut and cherry. In 1979, the down-filled cushions were replaced with cushions of urethane foam wrapped in fiberfill.

The chair is still in production at Herman Miller, and a new model complete with ottoman in black leather will set you back about $3,6000. Because the chair has been so popular for so long, there have been many copies made by a variety of high end as well as budget manufacturers. Vintage Herman miller 670 chairs have sold for as much as $6-7 thousand dollars, but these days, upwards of $2,000 is more typical, depending on the condition. An "Eames Era" or Vintage "Eames Style" knock-off will go for about $275 at auction again, depending on quality and condition.

Herman Miller's Fiberglass Chairs by Ray & Charles Eames

2008-12-08T20:59:00Z

In the course of their 37 year marriage and design collaboration, Ray and Charles Eames created any number of design classics for the Herman Miller Furniture Company, but probably the most well-known was their fiberglass shell chair.

Their early chair designs were fabrications in wood, leather, and various metals, but in the early 1950s, the couple began to experiment with fiberglass, and the DAR (Dining and Desk Chair Rod Base) chair was born.

These chairs had a fiberglass shell in either an armchair or armless version, and the earliest shells were manufactured by Zenith Plastics of California. These early DAR chairs came in yellow, black, and red, and had a variety of modular or interchangeable base options including wood or metal legs, a rocker base, or a wire strut type base referred to a s the Cat's Cradle or Eiffel Tower Base.

Still available today, collectors prefer the vintage models, and pay top dollar for the earliest versions. The most expensive are the original chairs made by Zenith. for Herman Miller. These will have a re, white and black paper label on the bottom of the chair that reads, "Miller Zenith." Slightly newer versions that sell well are armshell chairs with Eiffel Tower legs from the 1950s, and armshells on rocking chair bases also from the 1950s and 60s.

Sheets Antique Table

2008-11-28T15:14:00Z

I'm looking for information on an antique table that i own. I believe

it is from the late 1800's, it has 8 legs and it is a drop leaf; table

folds down to appr. 1 1/2 ft, it is 54 x 44 without the two leafs

when set up. It was made by

Sheets Company in Wapaketa, Ohio. Does any one have an info

or know what is may be worth?

us army cannon heater model 18

2008-11-03T03:23:00Z

I found this in my fathers back yard covered up. I know it's old, but how old I don't know. Is it a antique and about what will an antique dealer give me for it in the condition it's in? In the picture the door and top is missing, but I have them. They were down in the stove.

Oscar Short cedar chest

2008-10-30T21:33:00Z

I have a cedar chest that some one asked if I wanted to sell it I didn't want to sell it I have some blankets in it.

but I did get curious about it and what it was worth. so I google it it has a tag on it that says Oscar shorts cedar chest Nashville.

but google only came up with a genealogy info on him and that he was a carpenter and made cedar chest and that is all I was. stunned I couldn't find a company or any other info on the chest this a makers sticker and I would like to find out more if anyone may know something about cedar chest makers. It also has a sticker about the type of lock on it which very odd lock also this looks some what old and the info I found on Mr. Oscar Short was he was born 1876.

Here is the info I got from google..

Oscar Short b 2 January 1876 in Sumner County; married Maggie Ray in Sumner County, Tn on 28 July 1895. Oscar was a street car conductor in Nashville for many years. He was well known for his carpentry work and exquisite cedar chests. Photo of Oscar Short. Children of Oscar Short and Maggie Ray:

So if anyone can help please let me know. Thanks

Hitchcock Painted and Stenciled Chairs

2008-10-28T18:18:00Z

In 1821, Lambert Hitchcock (1796-1852) began manufacturing chairs at a small factory located between the Farmington and Still Rivers in northwest Connecticut. The area was remote, but had the advantage of plenty of lumber, moving water for power, and an existing sawmill. The area lacked reliable transport for the finished goods and a nearby labor pool, but Hitchcock managed to make a success of his venture.

Hitchcock was one of the early users of the assembly line process for manufacturing, a technique he borrowed from local clockmaker Eli Terry, who designed a line of clocks with interchangeable parts, and an assembly line process for cutting and assembling them.

Hitchcock used the technique to make good quality and affordable chairs which were assembled as kits with interchangeable parts that could be economically shipped and assembles at the destination.

Hitchcock’s designs were in the Sheraton and Hepplewhite styles, which were popular during his early years, styles which included rounded legs which could be turned on a lathe more inexpensively and faster than hand worked parts.

For embellishments, Hitchcock used and refined the stenciling process which had recently been developed in England. This was faster and cheaper than handcarving, but still led to a high quality finished product. Stenciled decorations included flowers, leaves and baskets of fruit cut manufacturing time, and allowed for quick drying of the multi-colored metallic powders that were applied to wet varnish or black, green, or yellow paint.

By 1825, his chairs were so popular that Hitchcock was able to build a new, 3-story factory, and other manufacturers were copying the style. Hitchcock became a generic name for a painted and stenciled chair, so Hitchcock began marking their products with the stenciled words “L. Hitchcock, Hitchcock-Ville, Conn. Warranted. Hitchcock died in 1852. The company continued, but was less successful in ensuing years as tastes and styles changed. An Early American decorating fad of the 1940’s revived the business, until 2006, when it finally shut its doors.

In terms of value, Hitchcock chairs are all over the map. The highest prices typically go for marked chairs from the 1830’s. These can bring anywhere from $100-300 depending on style and condition. Chairs from the 1940’s usually go for less. These can be recognized by the backwards “n’s” on the Hitchcock stamp.

Antique Stools

2008-07-23T00:07:00Z

Stools Through the Ages

For thousands of years, the stool has played an important part in homelife of all cultures and countries. Today, collectors enjoy their compact size and variety of styles, details, and finishes.

The stool had been the chief mode of seating around the globe from the beginning of recorded history up till about the 17^th Century. The ancient Greeks used them in their homes, as did the Egyptians and pioneers in the American West. It wasn’t until the 16^th century that chairs with arms and backs became commonplace, but even then, stools were much more widespread, as chairs were owned by only the wealthy and powerful.

Most antique stools found today are from the 17^th century or later, as earlier examples simply wore out due to constant use. Although earlier examples do exist, these are rare and valuable.

Because of their popularity due to functionality, stools were always current with furniture fashions of the times. When Queen Anne style was all the rage, there were matching stools with cabriole (curved) legs and pad feet that matched other seating. When furniture styles borrowed from history, stools followed suit, thus we find Egyptian x-frame stools from the Renaissance, and heavily carved Gothic style examples with turned legs and stretchers from the Gothic Revival period of the 1740’s and again from another Gothic Revival from about 1830-1875.

Early English stools were simple forms, usually of oak with pegged joints and simple carvings. These are referred to as joined stools, and, as the style resurfaced in the 1920’s and 30’s, its often difficult to determine the age of the piece without careful study. An authentic joined stool will show wear on the stretchers (the horizontal members that connect the legs) and irregularly shaped handmade pegs that protrude from the joints due to shrinkage.

Stool Values

Stools are popular with collectors and prices are high for proven early examples in good condition, which includes original finish, and where applicable, upholstery. An English Gothic Revival (see photo) stool, circa 1830 might bring $500-700, a Georgian c 1790-1820 in original finish but not original upholstery Mahogany model with ball and claw feet $350-400.

2 dressers

2008-07-21T13:24:00Z

Help... I have two dressers with numbers on the back. 1st dresser with matching mirror has the numbers 1673 1/2 on it. The 2nd one has 54 over 4294 on the back of dresser and matching mirror. Is there anyone out there who might tell me what these numbers mean and what type of wood was used in making them?

need to sell or pawn

2008-07-08T20:31:00Z

i have antique china statues and lamps and china I don't want to sell but need money where would I go

italian chairs

2008-06-18T22:40:00Z

I have three italian chairs made in the 1890 they are beautiful and am lookin for buyers

Arts& Crafts Furniture

2008-06-16T20:44:00Z

Gustav Stickley and His Furniture

Stickley was born in 1857, the eldest of eleven children. When his father abandoned the family when he was in 8^th grade, he had to leave school to help support his mother and siblings. By 1874, his family had moved to Pennsylvania, and Gustav was working at his uncle’s chair factory, where he was made manager and foreman by the age of 21. When he was not at the factory, young Stickley tried to continue his interrupted education in his uncle’s library, where he discovered the works William Morris and John Ruskin. Ruskin was a writer and social advocate, and Morris a designer whose philosophies urged a return to pride in workmanship and craft as an antidote to badly reproduced period furniture and the excesses and dehumanizing aspects of the industrial revolution.

The Gustav Stickley Furniture Company

After a series of unsuccessful partnerships with some of his brothers, and a trip to Europe, Stickley formed the Gustav Stickley Company, and designed a line of furniture based on his preference for simple lines and honest materials. This line he called “Structural”, and exhibited it at the Grand Rapids Furniture Market in 1900. Although it did not receive raves from retailers, House Beautiful Magazine praised the design as “sensible furniture.”

Gustav Stickley’s Furniture

Stickley’s designs feature clean, almost medieval lines and a lack of extraneous ornamentation, its only decorative elements being the beautifully crafted joinery that holds the pieces together. He named his structural furniture Craftsman style, and believed that it combined the best of man and machine.

Stickley Details

Gustav chose oak as the primary material for his Craftsman furniture. It was abundant in American forests, and thereby echoed the expression of the natural environment. The wood’s very visible grain was showcased by the forms of the furniture, so the grain complemented the lines of the piece rather than competing with it as was the case with more ornate styles.

Stickley finishes were impeccable, applied by hand, and restricted to only those shades that would enhance the oak’s natural color, grain and texture. His oak looked like oak, and was not dressed up to resemble any other exotic or costly specie of wood.

The clean lines of his chairs, tables, cabinets, desks, mirrors, screens, coat racks and benches were ornamented through the use of hand crafted joinery that both held the pieces together, and provided intricate detail. Mortise-and-tenon joints, where one element protrudes through a connecting element is one of the strongest joints in cabinetry, and produces and almost inlay effect as do exposed dowel joints. The butterfly joint resembles a bowtie, and is used to fasten two adjacent flat panels. Any or all of these joints will be found on both vintage and new pieces of Stickley furniture, which today, is also made of cherry.

Antiquarian Trader Video

2008-05-29T20:52:00Z

A quick walk through some interesting antiques from Mark Slotkin of Antiquarian Traders of Beverly Hills shows pieces through the 19th C. Victorian era, and some of the important furniture makers, styles, and pieces of the period. Witness the finest antiques available including antique desk ensembles, chandeliers, art case pianos, Turkish rocking chairs, and more.

Antique chair

2008-05-13T17:50:00Z

I have a chair that has been in my family for 60 years or so. If anyone has information on it it would be greatly appreciated.

Exeloak buffet

2008-04-30T13:44:00Z

Does anyone know of the exeloak furniture co.? I believe it to be or have been in Europe. The buffet has a bi-level top, lower mid-section, doors on both ends with 1 shelf, center is, cocktail service area with mirror on inside of door, below that is 2 drawers, one is felt lined. Front has big wood carving with long handles. You can reach me directly @ 601-981-8763 , kay