Absolutely, since its most likely a schellac finish which alcohol dissolves it should be relatively easy to remove. Odd how this original surface “fetish”, which was started inadvertently by an obscure art history professor(john kirk) in an attempt to stop people from stripping PAINTED furniture somehow got twisted into almost a cult.

In any event, a new home, a new finish, ALL HAIL STUBBY!

Thanks for updating us on Stubby!

http://www.prices4antiques.com/furniture/blanket-chests/Blanket-Chest-Victorian-Gothic-Revival-Oak-Relief-Carved-Panels-Iron-Hinges-D9973716.asp

My point was to not get in a fuss over coffee tables. I was simply pointing out that one does not need to do without nor cut the legs off of parlor/center/libary tables to have a coffee table. We can discuss form VS function but the pic demostrates that for some victorian tables, function clearly won that argument.

This website, igavel.com is a pretty good place to pick up bargains. It appears to be mostly auction house objects that were either passed at auction or didnt sell for one reason or another.

An old timer I met at a show, Waterloo Village in NJ, told me that this was a trend started in the 1920s. According to him a magazine article in “Popular Mechanics” told you how to cut down that old, out of style parlor table into a modern functioning coffee table. Seems the idea took off and many were cut down expressly for this purpose. With all due respects, in the 1920s these were not antiques but just old furniture that was indeed out of style and could be revived into a useful object. Most of these are vaguely ‘eastlake’ cheap walnut tables that when done right, the skirt hides where it was sawed down. I have seen really nice, high style tables given this treatment and my heart bleeds for them.

This particular one looks really bad though, but i suppose half a table is better than none?

zeke, Clifton NJ