questions on ebert furniture company antique mahogany sideboard/buffet

i don't know anything about this piece of furniture, I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on it. I'm thinking about buying it and restoring it. what's it worth?, could I restore it?, is it worth restoring, how old is it? is this a unique/rare piece? and did ebert furniture company make good furniture?. I cant find out much info online, the sticker on back says cust. "cecala-b-3956" 8/53. (maybe custom piece and there is 53 of them? I have no idea.) thanks for the help. Here are some pictures.

 

Hi, John, and welcome!

A brief google search gives a fairly good amount of info about Ebert Furniture. The company was founded in Philadelphia in 1854 and moved to Red Lion, PA in 1917. They produced bedroom suites, secretaries, dining room sets and cabinets.

Furniture production stopped during WWII, when the factory switched to making gunstocks. After the war, they went back to making furniture until the company was sold to Bethlehem Furniture Company in 1959.

I believe that the 8/53 shown on your label is a date and indicates when that particular "buffet" was made and shipped to the person in Philadelphia who purchased it. It is a very nice piece of furniture, but it is not an antique.

 

Although U.S. postal codes were used as early as the 1920s, they began to be widely used during World War II and were expanded to 5 digits in 1963. This gives you a (rough) time frame for your buffet. And makes it vintage rather than antique, by way.

Debora

 

Welcome, John! It's impossible to see in your pictures what kind of work you think this piece requires. Could you at least describe what you think it needs?

 

Sure, anything is restorable

No, not if you plan on selling it, if you're going to keep it then yes, restore away

 

Yeah, I am goin with Bakers on this one! it looks fine in photo's , Pic is to small to see much

 

hey thanks for the responses, to clarify, I can find info on the company itself, just not much infor on pieces like this. as far as restoring, the finish is scratched up and some dings here and there. any idea of a fair price? also, does restoring something destroy the value of it?

 

"restoring" in this case cannot harm any value it might have as used furniture. (which unfortunately, is what it is.) Planning on making it your own? or selling on?

 

me and a buddy want to start refinishing some things and sell them, it will give us a little hobby. the buffet is listed at 120 which I think is way too much, but like I said I have no idea what its worth. its not like we are trying to make a ton of money or anything, I guess we just like busy work. I just saw it for sale, and I like the way it looks.

 

Well, hang on for other opinions by members much better informed on furniture prices than I am. @verybrad

 

will do. thanks for all your help

 

Yes @verybrad for current prices on used/vintage furniture but, generally speaking restoration & flipping furniture at a profit do not go well together.

 

Id say $120 is about right for the current market,but it never hurts to walk in with 4 twenties and try.

 

True, still, if $120 is correct, that only leaves $40 to refinish & flip at a profit, I don't think so.
Years ago, people must of made a decent profit at this sort of thing because they stripped every piece of painted furniture they could get their hands on. I'd say that business model has gone nite nite though, most dealers i know won't touch a restore piece unless it's an important piece at the top of market. There is just no money in most "projects" these days.

 

Hard to tell from the pics but quality seems above average for the time period. Nice piece but doubt there is any room for profit there. It really will depend on your market. Here in my semi-rural Midwest market, $150.00 tops and it might take a long while to find a buyer. Unfortunately, paint it and it would fly out the door for $200.00 +. I would not advocate doing so. Find a piece for under $50.00 that has some veneer or other severe finish problems and paint away.

 

Yeah, I think that's right though probably not what OP wanted to hear. There is a couple in Indiana that paints old furniture & seem to do well at it. I have seen posters in here that painted vintage furniture & did it very well in my view. Brown furniture just ain't getting it done these days!
http://www.danandmarlenecoble.com/category/current_works/16.html#

A sample of their work

 

thanks for all the replies I appreciate it. I have decided to pass on it. I don't have room in my house for it, and there's no way I'm painting it. it wouldn't feel right, the wood is too pretty for paint in my opinion.

 

Yes, this is a problem with furniture that is out of the current day fashion, it's difficult to deal with particularly if built with hardwoods like walnut, cherry, maple, mahogany, etc. The figure on the wood is to pretty to paint & no one wants "brown furniture" at the moment.