This desk is being attributed to the shop of Allen and Brother of Philadelphia and being dated to around 1875.  I happen to have seen this desk in person - it sat in Adamstown, PA for a number of months and I drooled over the carved griffins on the base, but I couldn’t part with the cash that was being asked for it.

I’m not completely sold on this being by Allen and Brother as it doesn’t fully resemble items that I’ve seen by them before and I think the style of the carved griffins is the reason why it was attributed to them.  The pulls especially don’t say Allen to me but they could have been replaced and I am no expert who knows their full repertoire, anyway.

We’ve seen so many lion-headed griffins from Horner, Mitchell, and Karpen, etc., that we don’t recognize a true griffin when we see one, as is present on this desk.  As a result, the seller identified these figures as sphinxes, which usually have the head of a human, which these do not.  Griffins, going back to antiquity, have the head of a bird; most often an Eagle.

Bidding on the desk will start at $2,000 and the expected range will be $4,000 to $6,000.  More images at the listing.

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If you’ve ever wanted a pair of Rococo style Victorian beds, QUEEN size no less, then this is your chance. There are minor differences in the carvings, but you can see that they appear to have come from the same shop, possibly the New Orleans area.

The main difference is that one is made of Walnut while the other is of Mahogany.  They have been refinished so they will have a like new appearance.

With four days to go they have been bid up to $7,600 with reserve not met.  More details at the listing.

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I have a labeled Horner Hall or Throne chair (sometimes referred to as Savranola or “X”-Chair) and I have three other unlabeled chairs that share similar traits, so I’ll document how I would come to the conclusion that they are all by the Horner shop.  I wish I could give you a recipe for identifying Horner Hall Trees, dining room sets, etc. but for the moment I will focus on these style chairs alone.

I don’t have much information on these chairs to know whether they were Horner manufactured or just distributed by the company.  Prominently on every Horner label is a mention that they were makers and importers.  Years ago I also read a claim that a certain “School” (TR School?) made these for Horner, but that information was on a fleeting Ebay chair auction and a Google today on those keywords turns up nothing.

The Comparisons

The starting point for making the attribution is the “reference chair” and it’s original label that provides, in my mind, the basis of identifying the others as being by Horner.  The label is located under the seat and looks properly aged like many others that I have seen.

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