18th Century Dresser and Rack

Hubby says the lock is older and handmade, but he feels the piece itself is as I stated - about 100 years old. The lock could be a reproduction.

 

Good morning Bev there are just holes for the latch to go into please see attached photo, also on your piece the lock plate is screwed into door and mine have been nailed into place

 

Although way out of my field of interest, a couple of points about old furniture in general, at least in america.
It's nearly impossible to authenticate old furniture with pics alone, i am not sure exactly why.
The surfaces on your cupboard appear dead flat in pics & if 18th century, they shouldn't be if planed by hand.
The nails i see around lock do not appear to be hand made, again, the heads are dead flat and shouldn't be if hammered by a black/nailsmith in the 18th century.
Where the stiles & rails meet, there should be mortise & tenon joints pinned with wood pegs, i don't see that in pics.

 

I agree with James. I'm seeing machine tooling and not hand tooling. Also, many of the pictures are way to blurry to really see details. You need to have someone look at it in person. I just don't see the age on this and I've been in the business for over 50 years. As far as nailed hardware vs. screwed on hardware, that doesn't tell much. Lots of things happen to furniture over the years. Go to an antique store and see if you can get a dealer to take a look in person.

 

Yep, I am goin with Bev & annpan on this one! One of the odd things about very old furniture is, about all you have to go on is the construction details of the piece. It's the reason i collect old furniture, construction details, i am totally fascinated by them.
Bev is correct, have someone that knows what they are looking at examine your piece in person, it's the only way to really know what the story is.

 

Thank you everyone for your input. If it was worth a few dollars or pounds I would have sold it on, but my wife likes it so I will probably end up shabby chic'ing it and putting in lounge
Regards
Steve