Highboy authenticy?

Hey guys. So how do I tell if a piece has original hardware? Saw this Highboy the other day but seems to good to be true. T he feet are claw and ball but not sure about the hardware. What am I looking for exactly? Thanks for the info!
Rodney

 

Well, I don't think it's a period chest but as far as original pulls go, are there any other holes besides the ones currently? if no than probably original.
On period 18th century chests, the back plates would be cast & not stamped brass.

 

Early 18th century hardware was cast from molten brass using molds made of sand. This type of hardware is easy to recognize because it often has “inclusions” from the sand itself in the brass, either grains of sand or odd colors from impurities. The backs of this type of hardware were often left with the impression of the sand while the faces were polished. Around the middle of the 18th century the customary blend of copper and zinc was changed to include more copper, giving the alloy more of a reddish cast than the pale yellow brass used for hardware earlier in the century. And by 1780, rolled brass sheets were available so that each piece of hardware could be cut or stamped rather than having to be cast. This greatly reduced the cost and increased the availability and uniformity of late 18th century drawer pulls and escutcheons.

The use of high pressure rollers during the Federal period increased output even more. No longer did decorative pulls have to be engraved or chased individually. The designs were rolled right into the brass itself. An excellent example of this kind of work is the ornate oval backplate of Hepplewhite pulls of the early 1800s with flags, acorns and leaves embossed on them.

 

Cast brass plates are thicker than stamped and additionally, the edges are filed which leave marks.
Thing is, this can get complicated in a HURRY! You can buy brand new sand cast brass furniture pulls today, mostly used for restoration on old furniture. The only way to authenticate old furniture is by an in person examination by someone who knows what they are looking at.
Found these sand cast queen anne pulls from about 1920, notice the sand marks on back of plates

Front of backplate

Back of plate

 

As i have already blown this thread apart, may as well keep going. The American colonies were not allowed to have foundries, the British govt considered that a big NO NO. There were a couple reasons for this
1. Economic, the brits wanted to sell us finished goods on all sorts on things, not just brass, to protect their industries.
2. Political, cannons are cast from brass, NO TELLING where that could lead!
Then, just about the time sheet brass came out, we had this little thing called the Revolutionary War which naturally disrupted things A LOT!
Bottom line is, during the 18th century the american colonies imported virtually all of the brass furniture hardware that was used here was from england.

 

Great info, James.

Rodney, the pulls on that high boy are typically referred to as Chippendale style. Take a magnet with you and check to see if it attracts. Using the info James provided, look at the surfaces. Chippendale pulls have a 'pillowy' look when they're stamped, usually evident around the perimeter.

 

I WISH I had a printer!!! Thanks from me, too!

 

Someone correct me if Im wrong,but if it were original wouldnt the pieces separate? Its gorgeous regardless.

 

@silverthwait, can always copy content and save it in Word on your computer!!!!!

 

Is there scrolling on those cabriole legs? Anything on the back? What do the insides of the drawers look like?

 

The top from the base? Yes, all highboys were built in 2 pieces.
OP highboy does not look period to me but, can't see any construction details. The locks in drawer center should have backplates the same as drawer pulls but do not for 1 thing. Guesses this is a 19th-20th century chest.

 

Then, there are "centenial" highboys, chests that were built in 1876 as a celebration of 1776, many were hand made as a tribute to that earlier period.

 

So shouldn't someone point that out to Rodney before spending so much time on the drawer pulls and back plates. He did say right up front that it looked "too good to be true." (Which I take to mean that the price on it is particularly low in his estimation, although it might also mean that the piece is in incredibly good condition.) Just saying...

 

Well, I did that Bakers in 1st post, LOL, maybe no one noticed, first words out my mouth in first post were not a period chest!
But since he asked about hardware, i saw no reason not to go down that road a bit, OK maybe A LOT!. lol

 

Most collectors of early american stuff want the brass hardware to be original if possible, yes, even though we are aware it is imported from britain.

 

Yes, you did say that "not period part" right up front, but didn't say anything about built in 2 pieces that come apart being a qualification. You are so versed in this kind of thing, that may not have seemed necessary. Since this is as much as anything an educational site, I just thought it would have been good to mention it - or even ask Rodney to confirm whether it's 2 pieces or 1. Just my thoughts. Carry on!

 

And i was having such a SPLENDID time rattling on about hardware! I only have 2 pieces of 18th century american furniture that have their original brass pulls, one a william & mary piece the other queen anne.
To be honest, I can tell very little about Rodney chest except, it's not period, only 1 pic, no construction details at all.
I saw my opportunity to talk about hardware & i took it, with gusto!

 

No problem, always delighted to bore people to death talkin old furniture! never met a collector who wasn't!

 

You've never made a boring post!!