Help Appreciated

Just a bit more to add to the history of settles. They date back to medieval times. They were common in colonial America. Following is a description of one of their uses from the Old Sturbridge Village website with a pic of one of them at that wonderful colonial museum.

"A more well-equipped kitchen might boast an ironing settle, such as the one described by Catherine Beecher in her Treatise on Domestic Economy in 1841. [slide] This is essentially a dual purpose chair table with a large rectangular top hinged on the arms of the seat. In the winter it could be moved in front of the fire with the top tipped up to block drafts and '[was] a comfortable seat, protecting the back from cold.' [slide] With the top down it '[became] an excellent ironing table.' The seat was hinged, and the storage space below held the irons, ironing sheets, and other necessary equipment."

BTW, they are sometimes referred to as hutch tables because of the storage compartment in the bench. Nowww yours is definitely not of the colonial era. I just wanted to add a little history to settles.

--- Susan

"The seat lifted up to reveal more storage space. I’ve found quite a few pictures of these sort of combination tables.
"Here’s one I found in a kitchen at the Sturbridge Village museum.


"Stools would have been the first things the colonists made to sit upon. Benches probably came next. Benches could be sat upon, or you could use them to set things on. A bench could be backless, just a long plank that sat on a couple of supports, or it could have a back to lean against, and maybe side panels to shelter you from drafts."

Here's a reproduction of a fixed settle bench that dates from the mid 20th century:
http://www.pookandpook.com/cat/2015-01-19/2126

 

More pics of the Boston Rocker

 

So the giveaways that the table isn't super old so far is that there is no storage in the bench, and the pine boards should be wider and clearer? The top looks to be made of 3 boards around 1.5 ft. each. I do see where it looks like trim nails could have been used on the ends of the top and to attach the trim to the bench. So - a good estimate then for age of table is 1900-1920?

 

Some more pics of the hutch. Dovetails on drawers in first pic. Check out the back of the piece on the 2nd pic. It's slatted wood - not a solid piece. 3rd pic is inside the drawer cavity. I can try to get a pic of the back and bottom when I get home. It's a heavy piece though - and it's full of china. Also - on the hutch the top piece can be removed.

 

Excellent info - thanks Susan.

 

I think the table is most-likely post WWII. There was a resurgence in interest in colonial furniture then. It could also be 1970s or later when interest in primitives really heated up. This is also when we began to see furniture being made with recycled lumber and such. I don't know when your grandmother bought this. That may be the most telling aspect for age.

The rocker appears to have a multi-board seat made of pine. I think we are also looking at post WWII on this. I doubt an earlier chair would have been pine.

The hand cut dovetails on your hutch piece point to this being mid 19th century. It is also pine.

 

Thanks for the info Brad. Also - check this out: https://www.chairish.com/product/306206/antique-19th-century-open-hutch-dutch-cupboard - looks very similar to ours IMO.

 

I think the table has to be older than 70's since my wife's parents have had it longer than that. So post WWII would make sense for timing since that's when my wife's grandma would've been actively purchasing pieces like this.

How can you tell the rocker is pine? And has a multi-board seat? The bottom looks like a solid piece of wood.

 

This appears to be a seam of two pieces of wood

 

This appears to be a split of two pieces of wood

 

Nice china. Was that Grandma's as well? Could we see the back. Looks English possible late 1800s early 1900s.

When was Grandma married? That might give a time frame of when she started buying her furniture, if it wasn't handed down.

Also that cover that I asked about, you said is hand woven? You might want to get a closeup of the weave for our fabric people. That might have been an old jacquard weave she used to cover the cushion with.

 

The dishes are Spode Fleur De Lys pattern Red/Gold - grandmas as well. Not sure on date, but I think they were manufactured in the 1960s.

Grandma was likely married in the 30s. The fabric didn't look super old IMO - it was hand sewn around a cushion. I can take another look when I get home though.

 

Thanks. Looked like an older pattern. Still pretty.