The Best Way to Identify the Best Furniture

Here we will look into how to identify the bestrarer woods implies that an article cost more for
ways to recognize the furniture whether they arematerials and probably also for labor, and that it
good or bad and old or new. This can be donewas probably made to a high standard throughout.
through the general appearances, the coloring,The better-quality eighteenth-century pieces were
construction, etc. All these could help you tofitted with oak linings to the drawers, but in
identify the best and the worst.exceptional instances this might be mahogany or
General appearancecedar. Practice varied from workshop to
The general look of a piece of furniture tells theworkshop and from period to period, and a guide
expert whether it is old or not, but this is acan give only clues not answers.
matter of experience. If you are interested in oldBooks
furniture see as many genuine pieces as you can;The comprehensive book on all aspects of old
go to museums where you are certain of theEnglish furniture is The Dictionary of English
authenticity of the articles. Slowly the eye andFurniture, by Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards.
mind can be trained to recognize whether theIt is in three large volumes, copiously illustrated,
appearance of a piece is true or not.and was first issued in 1927. A further edition,
Coloringrevised and enlarged by Ralph Edwards, was
The ageing of wood alters its colour according topublished in 1954.
the timber from which it is made, and accordingAn excellent guide to the period 1720-1820 is
to the treatment it has received over the years.Georgian Furniture, issued by the Victoria and
Even the hidden inside parts change with time; if aAlbert Museum, 1951.
drawer-lining is scraped it will show at once howA standard work on French furniture is Les
the surface has aged. Equally, the old polishedEbenistes du XVIW Siecle, by Comte Francois de
outside surfaces mellow, and repolishing changesSalverte, of which the fourth edition was published
the colour of the wood completely.in Paris and Brussels in 1953. Also written in
ConstructionFrench, but less exhaustive and cheaper in price is
It is worthwhile studying the methods of makingLes Meubles Francois du XVIW Siecle, by Pierre
furniture, and how they have changed from timeVerlet. It is in two volumes: i), Menuiserie, ii),
to time. How, for instance, the crude dovetails onEbenisterie, published in Paris in 1956. In English the
the heavy drawer sides of 1600 were modifiedWallace Collection, London, Catalogue of French
and improved in the course of the century. WhenFurniture, by F. J. B. Watson, issued in 1956,
examining a piece of furniture in a strong light, it iscontain, a great deal of information and many
as well to look for signs of alteration, and to tryillustrations.
to reason what was done and why.Experts in furniture can identify the furniture and
New screws differ markedly from old; prior totell you that whether the articles are new or old
about 1850 they did not taper to a point, also, thethrough the appearances of the furniture. The
slot in the head was hand-cut and seldom central;coloring of the woods altered by the aging and
in modern machine-made screws it is invariablythe treatments that it receives from time to time
exactly across the middle of the head. Veneeringdetermines its appearances. And the types of
has been mentioned on earlier pages when itconstructions give you a good idea about the
came into use with the introduction of walnut. Itcondition of the furniture. The screws the nails
may be added that old veneers were cut with aand the way the woods are fitted, etc. gives
saw by hand, and are consequently quite thick;shows what are the conditions. The Dictionary of
many of them almost an eighth of an inch.English Furniture, by Percy Macquoid and Ralph
Modern veneers, however, are cut with aEdwards is the comprehensive book on all aspects
machine-driven saw, and are much thinner. This,of the English furniture. And Les Ebenistes du
with other factors, is a useful indication of theXVIW Siecle, by Comte Francois de Salverte is a
genuineness of a piece. The use of some of thestandard work on French furniture.