Featured Just looking for help with vintage furniture

I took a look at your website and saw some very helpful threads about other people's Jacobean Revival furniture, and I thought it might be worthwhile seeing if everyone can help me identify some pieces inherited from my grandparents, which I'm hoping to find one or more buyers for.
First, can someone confirm how I can create a new post and attach photos of the furniture? Sorry, but I'm new to all of this. I just clicked on Upload a File, below, but the the first two .jpg files were too large to upload. I did see good-quality photos in another thread, so I hope someone can advise me on how to show the photos.
In the meantime, I can tell you there's a dining room table and four chairs (a couple of others need to be reassembled and glued), a china cabinet, and a buffet. There's also a sideboard, but that's not in the same location.
The pieces are almost certainly from the 1920s or possibly 1930s. I couldn't find anything similar enough on the Internet to be sure if they're by Berkey and Gay, Rockwell, or some other manufacturer. The style found online that appears to be most similar is Jacobean Revival, but if I can post the photos, maybe someone can correct me on this.
RichS

 

Hi, there! I can't help but someone will be along shortly to provide instructions re photographs.

Debora

 

This thread has info on creating a thread of your own, to which you can add pictures of your furniture.

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/making-a-post-and-uploading-pictures.16038/

You should start that thread in the Furniture Forum.

 

Thanks. My photo files are too large to upload. I'll have to work on that and come back, hopefully over the weekend, with a new post in the furniture forum.

 

Did you take these pictures with a phone or a regular camera? Where are these pictures stored - Computer or phone? If the answer to either question is a phone - what kind - Apple or Android system?

 

What I do is email the photos to myself and select medium size. That should fix the size problem. Here are two links to instructions depending what kind of phone you have.
Resizing Photos On I-Phone | Antiques Board (antiquers.com)
Using an Android Phone For Pics on Antiquers | Antiques Board

 

@sabre123 has the specific instructions saved to copy and paste, I believe.....I have them saved very handy on a “sticky note” on my computer, which happens to STILL BE AT THE computer Drs., and is KILLING ME!!!!!

 

Welcome Rich. I'll ask the mods to move your thread to the Furniture forum, that is a start.
@daveydempsey , @i need help , @Bookahtoo , could you move this thread to Furniture please?

 

It's always preferred to include photos that are large enough to show detail. Many people run up against the 1Mb file limit imposed by the forum. Once you have the file size limit under control, be sure to select 'Full Image,' as opposed to the default of Thumbnail, when you post.

You can refer to the following instructions for assistance.

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/

Posting images from mobile:

iPhone:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/resizing-photos-on-i-phone.35097/

Android phone:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/using-an-android-phone-for-pics-on-antiquers.41709/

 

Can't help but hope you find someone interested in your grandfolks

 

I fiddled with the photos and was able to upload them. Now, my questions:
1. Can anyone confirm that the style of these pieces (there's also a sideboard, in a separate location) is Jacobean Revival? If not, what are they?
2. Are they clearly from the 1920s, or the 1930s (almost certainly not earlier or later), or might they be from any time in this period?
3. Any ideas on the manufacturer? Berkey and Gay? Rockford? Or too difficult to tell without the sales slip (which might be found)?
4. Most important, of course, does anyone have any suggestions as to who might be interested in giving this furniture a new home? I've read that they might be in some demand out west, but unfortunately they're in Florida now, and shipping would probably cost far too much.
5. There's no interest in trying to sell them personally at eBay or Facebook Marketplace or some similar site, but consignment or auction might be a possibility. Again, any suggestions?
6. Finally, any thoughts on an asking price, if any buyers can be found? Or just whatever anyone's willing to offer?
I appreciate whatever help can be provided for these beautiful pieces. It would be terrible, after nearly a century in good or decent condition, to have to junk them.
P.S. I'm doing this on behalf of my brother. My understanding is that in addition to the five chairs visible behind the table, at least one other exists but needs to be reassembled, because the glue dried out. I can clarify this, get dimensions, and obtain any other details if needed.

 

Hi, @RichS . I'm in Florida, retired now. As are many others in Florida. And, I'm sure your grandparents also were. Now their beloved furniture is in their estate and your brother is charged with dealing with it.

This furniture is a pretty standard type in production from anywhere in the 1930s through the 1940s. May even be from the late 1920's. The decades for this type furniture overlap as they were considered traditional in those years in the U.S. and probably elsewhere too, Europe. Here often sold "on time" (monthly payments) in dept. stores such as Sears, Penney's, to newlyweds starting out.

My folks owned something quite similar, with fancy deco style marquetry on veneer in mahogany tones. Theirs was new in 1938 when they married in Sweden. When my brother found no customers for the DR suite in their estate in the early 2000s, he donated it to the Salvation Army.

That's the sad truth of this type furniture today:

It's not old enough to be collectible (read, valuable) as there is too much of it out there still. And the style is not particulary sought after by the millenials who now furnish their homes, mostly in MCM or IKEA, if truth be told.

"Antiques" to them do not interest them and they often find the term pejorative. Millenials will pay for education, vacations, fun toys like cars, air planes but not old furniture to encumber them. Millenials are minimalists and the mantra buy-use-throw away was coined for them. Investing in antique items for future appreciation is completely foreign to them.

So, although of nice quality and in good condition, you might have to sell this furniture reasonably or donate it. If you donate to a charity or G-Will you get a receipt for tax deduction to charity. The furniture is therefore worth "something". Better than wood for the furnace anyway. Good luck!

 

This is depression era furniture circa 1930. It is a bit of a mish-mash of styles, incorporating elements from various styles. Sometimes it is called Jacobethan as a play on words. It is impossible to find a maker without a label or bill of sale. For the most part, it really doesn't matter much who made it. I don't think your chairs are original to the set.

That is too bad since this would be the way to get best return. Here in my Midwest location we would be somewhere in the $500.00 range at retail. Finding a buyer might be difficult and we would probably need to be willing to split the set up. I don't believe Florida is any better, marketwise. At auction, you would get considerably less.

 

Darn--I didn't realize that if I wrote a post without logging in first, it would disappear when I did log in; apparently my reply vanished. More briefly, thanks to lizjewel and verybrad for your responses, although they're disappointingly similar to what dealers have told my brother and me so far. I'll pursue a few other leads, and maybe others at this website will have other suggestions. Incidentally, as far as I know, the dining room chairs (which aren't easy to see clearly) are the originals, and my brother inherited all of this furniture when our grandfather died in 1979, in the Bronx (no retirement in Florida).

 

In the interest of completeness, I'm posting a photo of the fourth part of this set, a sideboard, though it's in a separate location in New York. As you can see from the appliances (including a small TV) on top of it, it's nowhere near as wide as the buffet, shown above. As you can tell (for example, the legs and the part that connects the legs), all the furniture is part of a single set--though it would be overly optimistic of me to expect any one person to be interested in the whole set.

 

Could add another $100.00 or so for this last piece.

 

I was personally shocked by the sold and for sale prices of Jacobean pieces on etsy. Seems like they are suddenly desirable?

Peace

 

I think it is quite a plus that you have a complete set. In my mind, that increases the value. It also, as Brad said, limits your potential buyers. I hope you can find someone who will want to keep the set intact.