Is the name of the maker of the sofa above correctly spelled as Charles Boudoine, Badouine, Baudoine, Baudouin, or Boudouine?
None of the above. The correct spelling is "Baudouine" (see image of his stamp below). I have often misspelled it myself on Rare Victorian as a result of mimicking the spelling provided in the auction listings that I have profiled. Just remember to include both "au" and "ou" with "i" in the name and that will probably help you.
The sofa above is
listed for sale under 3 of those misspellings simultaneously for good reason: many of the cabinetmakers names from the 19th Century have been misspelled over the years and continue to be so. If you're selling something, it may behoove you to make sure you include all possible spellings of a name in your listing so that everyone can find your item. Maybe the guy/gal with the money to buy your item is a bad speller.
From the searcher's perspective, the same guidance holds true. When searching through the Internet for information or furniture from these makers, you sometimes need to think about what the common misspellings may be for a name in order to find what you're looking for. You may only find a percentage of what you could find if you searched under both correct and incorrect spellings. On the other hand, you may find lots of things you don't want - don't use "Charles Baudouin" or you'll find 10,400 pages of information on a famous Psychoanalyst, Philosopher and Poet.
Other commonly misspelled names:
- Mitchell & Rammelsberg is sometimes seen as Mitchell & Rammelsburg
- Gustave Herter was known as Gustav Herter in Germany, so you see both
- John Jelliff is sometimes seen as Jeliff or Jellif
- Kimbel & Cabus is sometimes misspelled as Kimble & Cabus
- Kilian Brothers is sometimes seen as Killian Brothers
- Prudent Mallard and Prudence Mallard can be used interchangeably
- Allen and Brother is often pluralized incorrectly (as Brothers)
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