From the category archives:

For The Record

Antique Attributions Murky Part II

November 18, 2009

I think an equally important problem with making attributions is that we, on the whole, have long forgotten many fine makers from the Victorian era, probably numbering in the thousands – America alone, let alone globally. With an absence of labels, tags or stamps, we have nothing to remember them by except for old, [...]

1 comment Read More →

For The Record: Kilian Brothers Worktable

September 9, 2009

Here’s another installment of my For The Record posts, in which seek to disburse information on pieces with available documentation for future identification purposes.
While perusing the Neal Auction furniture sections for this weekend’s sale, I noticed a worktable that I have reference material on. This is one of the variants of Kilian Brothers’ work [...]

2 comments Read More →

For The Record: Bardwell, Anderson & Co., Boston, MA

March 28, 2009

I was perusing one of my oft-used Victorian furniture books, Furniture Made In America, 1875-1905, and ran into a table that I knew that I had seen before.  My recollection is that Meg and Bruce Cummings had one in their catalog and lo and behold, I found one there for sale.  Meg and Bruce run [...]

6 comments Read More →

For The Record: James W. Cooper & Brother

March 12, 2009

In case anyone runs across one of these Hunzinger-looking pedestals, they were actually made by Philadelphia maker James W. Cooper.  You may have already viewed his “Art Furniture” catalog here on this site.  Paul Tucker, who shared the image with us, found the photo in an issue of American Cabinetmaker and Upholsterer.

3 comments Read More →

James W. Cooper & Bro. – Philadelphia Art Furniture

March 4, 2009

Many of you may already be aware that I have set up a special page on Rare Victorian to make original furniture manufacturer catalogs from the 19th century available for Rare Victorian readers to view.  I own several period catalogs and I’ve been scanning them over time and making them accessible on the catalog page.  [...]

4 comments Read More →

For The Record: J. W. Hamburger Prince Of Wales Chair

November 25, 2008

In another installment of “For The Record” on Rare Victorian where I feature the work of low profile makers of the 19th Century, I’m pleased to present what I strongly believe is a Joseph W. Hamburger Prince of Wales chair.  An image from their ca. 1870 catalog below shows a model #33, “Prince of Wales” [...]

6 comments Read More →

For The Record: Israel Fellows

November 14, 2008

I’d like to start a new feature on Rare Victorian, which I hope will last beyond this one post, called “For The Record”.  The aim is to profile some less prolific, less visible, or “lost” cabinetmakers from the Victorian era.  I’ll especially try to target makers whose pieces seem to be anonymously floating (or wrongly [...]

8 comments Read More →