New to furniture collection

I am deeply curious about furniture (as an aside - 18th century English furniture - Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite - has particularly piqued my interest - though this is not based on any particular knowledge, it’s just me finding it nice to look at!), and I want to learn more about furniture design.

I’d really like to do a general survey of furniture design, get a sense of the various periods/movements/styles. And then see what period or style interests and appeals to me the most.

Can you recommend some good resources for that? If there is no single resource, I’d be glad to read any number that would give a good overview!


Also - once I do have a period/style/design in my mind, which I love, can you recommend a process/way to find good resources (books, articles, etc.) on that?

Lastly - are there any serious furniture collectors on the forum? It would be great to connect - I would be very interested to know about how you started collecting furniture, the style and period of your interest, any interesting pieces you have collected, etc.

 

Our 18th Century (American) furniture expert has left, unfortunately. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about styles and construction.

I'm a collector, but I collect American Victorian, specifically 1850-1900, although I'm open to things before and after those dates for certain pieces. I collect in that time period because, although it's way out of fashion right now, you frequently find wonderful materials incorporated into the pieces, like fine hardwoods, beautiful inlay, and porcelain plaques. Also, there can be a startling originality to the design of certain pieces, i.e. the chair/ladder of August Elliers and various pieces by George Hunzinger.

In addition, I started collecting because later Victorian "speaks" to me, and because we inherited some family pieces that I love that are of that time period. I have some of what I would call "top" pieces, but the good thing is that even everyday furniture was made out of solid wood and/or quality veneers back then. But to answer your question, I've got etageres by Prudent Mallard, Meeks, and Mitchell & Rammelsberg, a bookcase by Daniel Pabst, a music stand, canterbury, and chairs by Herter Brothers, a bedroom set, hall tree, and several tables by Berkey & Gay, a bed by R.J. Horner, a floor regulator clock by Waterbury, and a shaving stand and several tables by Thomas Brooks. I've got signed pieces by lesser-known makers that are just about as nice, and unsigned ones that I would never part with.

So there's that. I can recommend books about Victorian furniture, but I don't know the best sources for the 18th Century English pieces which interest you. Perhaps someone else on the forums would, i.e. @Fid or @Ownedbybear ?

 

In short, yes, there are at least a few of us dedicated collectors of antique furniture remaining here. James was by no means the only one (has he left?).

One bit of advice I’d make is that it is far easier (and cheaper) to collect furniture that was made close to the area where you are living. I live in the Boston area, so period Queen Anne (1720-1760) shows up occasionally, plus a fair number of 18th century chairs and other pieces (Windsor and other). I prefer finding pieces that haven’t been prettied up for sale at auction. Ghopper lives in the Midwest (I think) so collecting the later 19th century furniture that was embraced and made in that region makes perfect sense since the supply is greater there. Where are you living?

BTW, the English furniture designers you listed are known for their style books, which were popular with the public and used by many furniture makers trying to appeal to buyers looking for the latest fashion in furniture. You won’t find pieces made by those designers in the US, but you will see their stylistic influence on the furniture made here, with modifications for local traditions and materials.

I also have a huge collection of reference books. I first learned using the classic works by Wallace Nutting, Lockwood, Sack and others. But there are a huge number of books now available used at low prices, so if you want to learn about early furniture there is an almost endless supply of info out there. One I think would be particularly useful for a starting collector is Field Guide to American Antique Furniture by Butler. It is full of drawings, not pictures (so not as visually attractive as some books full of glossy photos) but does a comprehensive sweep of all the antique furniture styles one is likely to run into in the US, plus good info on early construction methods.

 

Good advice there.

Yes, I'm in the U.S. Midwest, although most of the best Victorian cabinet makers were in the Northeast. But to Jeff's point, Mitchell & Rammelsberg's top-drawer stuff turns up with some regularity here, mainly because they had a huge "ware room" in St. Louis.

Apparently James has indeed left the building.

 

Can you recommend some good resources for that? If there is no single resource, I’d be glad to read any number that would give a good overview!

You found it....it's right here !
Read the Furniture Forum...........from 1st thread till last & by the time you're finished you will have a good idea what styles and forms you gravitate towards, and a knowledge , better than most , as to how and where to proceed along your journey !!

but , you must read every thread here ...suck up all the wisdom provided ....and then come back and tell us what path you've chosen !!

 

I am sad to read that James has left. I always enjoyed his comments, especially upcoming auction items that made me drool. I hope he did not leave the planet, just the forum.

 

Ha ha, just the forum, not the planet. Doubt if he'll be back though.

 

I must have missed something. Usually when someone leaves there is an indication of unresolved conflict in their last posts, but I didn’t see that (unless some thread was removed?) James certainly had strong opinions he was ready to state, but I didn’t see any conflict. Do you have any clues what happened?

 

likely....conflict !

 

I remember contretemps with various boardies, but I can't point to an individual thread because I can't remember what those threads were called.

I think he was frustrated with newbies who believed that their antiques were solid gold, and were looking for boardies to back up their opinion. When that wasn't forthcoming, the newbies just dug in harder and became hostile. That's happened several times in the furniture forum and I'm sure in other forums as well. There's only so much that anyone can take.

I first "met" James on a long-defunct Victorian site, and "knew" him from another antique site was well. As we've noted, his knowledge of 18th century U.S. furniture was extraordinary; rarely did I fail to learn something from one of his in-depth posts. He did have a distinctive sense of humor, and if I may say so, it seemed to rub some folks the wrong way.

 

@Harelquin - Hello & welcome to the forum!!

I know very little about furniture other than what I like. I tend to go for the Art Deco or MCM style. In other words, I tend to go for the sleekier stuff rather than the type with all the frills.

Along with @komokwa's suggestion to read all of the posts in the furniture forum I do have a suggestion for you that may help keep you from spending a small fortune on books. Visit your local library & see what types of books they have available. If you do find one that you find very informative you can always seek out a copy to have as your own. There are multiple sites out there that sell used sometimes out of print books.

 

For your favorite cabinet makers, Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, go to THEIR books first (all three have been conveniently packed together a few times over the years). That will help you recognize the style. Then go to Miller's or some other price guide to see, well prices, but also what's out there. And go to a lot of auctions (virtually, at least). Hope this helps.

 

James was also fun to banter with!!!!

 

Well, it never or rarely shows up on this site and when it does, it's usually junk cobbled together from old parts.

Way too many to list, you should first ID your particular area of interest, then you can focus on appropriate reading materials, blogs, forums, etc.

No, not really, not for early furniture. Sometimes one will stumble in but they don't hang around as there isn't any early furniture to post about.
There is for Victorian, Ghopper, and Mission /A&C, verybrad but early stuff? no.

 

@James Conrad ......

So glad to see your post!!

 

Yay @James Conrad is back. Glad he made a (kinda sorta) liar out of me.

 

I drift off, as you well know, ditto the other forum as well, there just isn't / hasn't been anything to post about.

 

A book I really enjoyed is Albert Sack's Fine Points of Furniture: Early American. It's purpose is to train the eye to good, better and best -- a valuable skill for a collector in any field.

Debora

 

Indeed, if your interest is in early American furniture.

The bible, of course, is Wallace Nutting's "Furniture Treasury" published in 1928. Although much of the scholarship is dated/not correct and the photographs are B&W and not that great by today's standards it remains an iconic book in any furniture collectors library. It is still referred to as the "Bible" in EA furniture studies.

 

An aside, James -- I like the new avatar photo.