I’m a big fan of all styles and eras of Victorian furniture and my interests even leak into the immediately preceding and following eras.

Not wanting this site to be all about Renaissance Revival and Rococo, I’m always on the lookout for nice pieces in any Victorian style.  It’s just that there are more examples of the former, and less Aesthetic, Egyptian Revival, etc., floating around in the marketplace - that are of mentionable quality.

Misslilybart, in the forum, spotted this chair coming up at the 9/7 Brunk auction and had this to say about it:

It appears to be identical to one at the High Museum (see Art & Enterprise: American Decorative Art, 1825-1917 The Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection, page 265, Plate 146). The High catalog does not make any attribution beyond “Probably New York,” but they do note that it is comparable to work executed for the William H. Vanderbilt House by Herter Brothers (these chairs, in particular), and that the mixed-media marquetry is similar to that of known pieces by Herts Brothers. Continue Reading »

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Tags: Aesthetic Movement, Anglo-Japanese, desk, ebonized, inlaid, side chair

If you are a Herter Brothers collector, here would be a special item to add to that collection.  In 1879, Christian Herter began his “magnus opus, the William H. Vanderbilt residence on Fifth Avenue at Fifty-first Street.  It was the largest, most elaborate commission in his career.”¹

This dresser is branded “Herter Bros” and is signed in pencil, “N 411 Vanderbilt Esq.”  below the marble and “Vanderbilt” behind the mirror.  There is a reasonable chance that this was either Mr. or Mrs. Vanderbilt’s own personal dresser.  Since Christian designed each room with it’s own theme in the house and the owners’ bedroom(s) was done in the Anglo-Japanese taste, this dresser would have been an appropriate part of the decor.

To explain the “N 411″ written on the piece, on a whim, I Googled “411 Vanderbilt” and turned up another prominent New York businessman’s home in Brooklyn, Cornelius Hoagland, who became very wealthy making baking powder and his home was built in 1882.  It’s address was 409-411 Vanderbilt Ave.

He had the money and lived in the timeframe in which he could have bought a dresser like this from Herter Brothers, but it is an unnecessary diversion from reality.  “Vanderbilt Esq.” ties the dresser directly to William Vanderbilt Esq.  “N 411″ is likely a number to identify the piece: a model number or order item number.

The dresser will sell on August 26th, starting at $20,000 with expected range of $40,000 to $60,000.  More at the listing.

¹ “Herter Brothers Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age“, Howe/Frelinghuysen/Voorsanger

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I’m sitting here looking at Oak Creek in Talbot County, MD, having just watched 8 swans fly overhead. In a matter of weeks the famous Maryland Blue Crabs will be running and this area is famous for them in abundance and in massive size. If you’ve ever bought blue crabs at your local seafood store, wherever you are, you have no idea the monster size crabs that never show up at that market and that we “locals” take for granted here.

Even though this is a weekend “away”, I still have laptop in tow and was perusing the Neal Auction lots and thought I’d pick out an unusual item to mention. The above Gong Stand is from the late 19th century and is ebonized and gilt, and retaining it’s original finish. It appears to have it’s original graduated brass gong plates.

Certainly would be an interesting dinner bell to call the family to the table with.

I don’t have a taste for the Oriental style furniture from the period, though I know the Herter Brothers, among others, were very inspired by it and produced furniture in the Anglo-Japanese style. This is not a piece by them.

More details and images of the stand at the listing.

I’m heading to Chesapeake Beach, MD shortly to prepare for a 6:00 am Rockfish (Striped Bass) trip tomorrow and look forward to stopping by 2 or 3 favorite antique haunts on the way there. I’ve picked up a Belter and some good marble top tables at one of the shops in the past. Let’s see what he has for me today…

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