Pear Dresser

Hi everyone! This is my first post. I've been looking for an old piece of furniture that needs love to refurbish. I paid $50.00 for this dresser, but the handles have me curious. I can't find anything online, so I'm seeking your expertise. Any idea how old this is? Or where it may have came from? I would appreciate any help. Thank you!!

 

Victorian.

Debora

 

You got a very good buy.
I hope you don't plan on painting it.

Time period, late 1800s.
Probably Walnut.

Wait for @verybrad to stop in.

 

Is it worth something? I was thinking about painting it.

 

In today's market not as much as it used to be. A few years ago $300 plus.
Wait a few years and it will probably go back up. Everything goes in cycles.

In the 1970s people were painting furniture like they do today.
Then prices for antique furniture climbed sky high. Now the prices are down again.

It's a beautiful piece. If you paint it and later decide to strip the paint off and redo it, you will have lost the patina of the old wood. That only comes with years of polishing.
But it is your piece and you are entitled to do what you want with it.
To those of us who love old furniture, we cringe when we hear people are going to paint good pieces such as this.

 

I appreciate your advice. I knew there was something special with this when I saw the drawer pulls.

Would restoring parts of it that are falling apart do anything to the value?

I don't think I am going to paint it now.

 

Lovely antique 'brown walnut' piece with gorgeous, original pulls. I believe the drawer trim is called 'race-track'. Personally I would HATE to see it painted.

 

I did find one like it online, and she repainted the entire thing. I think I'm going to hold off and find something different to refurbish.

 

Circa 1870 walnut. Part of the renaissance revival furniture of the era but more of a cottage sub-type. Often see these with acorn or leaf pulls. The pear pulls are not unheard of but are less common. I would expect this to have had a mirror. Here is a similar piece.

 

That is gorgeous!! I'm going to invest in some good oil and make mine shine again!

 

Lucky you,OP,the finish looks pretty darn nice.It wont take much to make this shine.

 

I'm with you.....hopefully it will never see paint!!

I would love that in my house too. I do have one similar, but not with the fancy handles.

 

Definitely last quarter of the 19th Century. I have 2 of them myself, and a blanket chest with the same pulls. Its a very, very common item and one would be very fortunate to get $150 for it today. Brown furniture isn't what it used to be, but I do see some signs of it coming back slowly. I agree, no paint for stuff like this.