PLEASE HELP!

Hello i hope all is well with everyone..i found these old chairs in a 1920 candy store in south carolina.Any info on these would be great.. thank you for reading and have a good one

 

very new collector..any info would be great..also found a 1874 steroscope and a few other things in the same shed...will post pics soon. thanks again to all.

 

Welcome, lowcoast!

Someone else will need to opine on the age of the chair frames, but it looks to me like someone "made do" in replacing the old rush seats by using plywood on one and 1x lumber on the other. That plywood apparently started life as a shipping box (thus the baggage tag.)

 

thanks for ur reply..that one peice looked tounge and grove..and that shipping tag looked a lil old to me but i dnt know much!!lol! in ur opinion would these hold any value?

 

Look to be typical 20th century ladder back chairs. The seats are not original and negate any potential value these have. Even with good seats, these are not terribly valuable.

 

Stereoscopes are a dime a dozen, unless yours is particularly handsome, or unique
BUT...the cards...with the right photo's can have real value..

 

Hola, and welcome, lowwwwwwwwwwwcooooooooast, to the Forums.

 

Welcome!

 

thanks for replys!!!dang that sucks...i thought they had some age looked handmade? well maybe ill stain or ckean them up and sell as folk art!!!lol lol

 

Hi! Many of us look at the site by phone. Many by both phone and computer. It's not fun to have to open each photo on a phone so as to help people.
Please always enlarge your photos. If you need help to learn how to do that please ask.

 

got it

 

whats the best way to clean them up???if anyone has anything would be great!!was thinking of hitting them with a clearcoat and maybe try to repurpose!! i paid 5 bucks a piece!!!thanks again and everyone have a good day

 

Stand by for Very Brad others on that.

 

I would clean them good with soap and water first. Murphy's oil soap or similar is great. Try not to get them too wet. Once dry, use some kind of penetrating finish on them since they look pretty dried out. A tung oil varnish or similar is good. I like Hope's tung oil varnish when I can find it or make my own (1 part each of oil based varnish, mineral spirits, and tung oil). Watco also makes some pretty good penetrating finishes but are a bit thinner so may require more coats. 2-3 coats applied with a rag should do. A final coat of furniture paste wax will complete the process.

Personally, I would do something different with those seats. They are too wide and too flat. To be authentic, these need a rush seat but they are probably not worth going to this kind of trouble for. Probably an upholstered seat would be easiest.

 

thanks for all the info!!i find this stuff really interesting. would like to know the age of chairs or process i can find out age.. that shipping sticker on bottom looked old??also the one chair was put together using tounge and grove i think??gonna clean them per your directions!!any idea what their value could be with new seats as u said!! thanks

 

more than the $5 you paid...less than you'd hope for !

 

best news ive had all day!!lol

 

Really hard to tell age on ladder backs since they were made virtually unchanged for many years. The turned front stretchers on yours makes me think probably 20s-30s. Value is minimal. Even refinished and with new seats, I would think under $50.00 for the pair at retail here in the Midwest. You might do better in some locations than others but you are not going to get rich on these.