Makers mark identification

I found and bought an antique full size bed today. It was a consignment shop. They lady said it was from the 1880’s. Not sure about that but the bed is beautiful. Needs to be restored lots of excessive varnish and some wear and tear. But the mark that is on it is on both head and foot board..... “ D/X “ . Just being curious and would like to know what I’m dealing with so I don’t ruin this bed.

 

Hello, Chave! Congrats on your purchase. We're going to need to see both the bed and these D/X marks, Can you take pictures to upload here?

 

Here's a brief tutorial on starting a thread and attaching pictures.

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

If you need more help, just ask!

 

The rails have the same design on them as the head and foot boards

 

The pictures of the D IX appear to be identical - a single image repeated. Just in case there are any differences between the headboard and footboard marks, can you post a picture of the "other" one?

 

Thanks! So now we put out the call for the furniture folks! @verybrad @Ghopper1924 @James Conrad

 

The block of wood on the back side of the rail wear the pocket is also has the same mark on both rails

 

Gorgeous Renaissance Revival walnut bed. Ca. 1880, or even a bit earlier, is about right. Nice purchase!

I'm inclined to read this as D IX, as in D 9, since the D seems to be one "font" and the IX another. Unfortunately, that doesn't really tell us anything either. I'm tending toward these marks being an internal reference or inventory number, which would only mean something to the company that made the bed.

Right off the bat I can't think of any of the big players from that time period that began with "D," but there were many dozens or even hundreds of furniture makers in the late 19th century, most of them lost in obscurity now.

One crucial part of the puzzle: Where are you located? Is it the same place where the bed came from?

Even if you never find out exactly who made it, I think its fairly safe to suppose that it was made by one of the better companies in the midwestern U.S. in one of the northern furniture making states during the 1870s and 1880s, i.e. Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois.

Not sure how much you paid, but if you refinish the bed in a very sensitive, careful manner it may very well come out looking better. It's only furniture above a certain high price that needs to keep its original finish to keep its value, and it's certainly no insult to the bed to say that it's probably below that price point.

 

I paid $300. Couldn’t pass it up. It has some wear and tear but is still beautiful. I live in Mobile, Alabama. The lady at the shop said it had been in one family all these years and passed down through the generations. Amazing that it has stayed in one family for all this time. The stories it could tell. My grandfather was a master craftsmen and owned a sawmill and a cabinet shop. I have several pcs he built. My grandmother restored antiques and has extensive knowledge on different types of woods and how to approach the restoration process. I’m sure the process will be a slow one.
Thank you for your info. I hope I can pass it along to our family and our grandkids.

 

I’m not sure where the family was from originally. I may have paid too much. I’m not sure. My wife and I have decided to refurnish our home and get rid of all the box store furniture that doesn’t last and fill our home with antiques. The craftsmen ship and creativeness is superior on a whole different level.

 

Bravo !

 

WELCOME Chave !!! ... Joy.

 

Neat, thinks ghopper covered this pretty well. Antique beds are usually a tough sell because of modern size requirements & restoring them to queen or king can get pricey in a hurry, still, I'd say $300 is fair.
Mobile huh, if you are into Victorian furniture, one of the best auction houses in the country for museum quality victorian is Hal Hunt in Tuscaloosa Al. I find that houses like Hunt are great for picking up bargains because they specialize in the "big boys" ( belter, meeks, horner, herter, roux, etc) and most of the sale clients are focused on those big boy pieces. Once a year they have a "museum" sale loaded with big names in the victorian furniture world. One can often get a very good buy on lesser pieces that do not have a big name attached plus, even if you buy nothing it's worth just looking at the top pieces in your style preference.
https://www.halhunt.com/