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Gerald Lawhorn Collection At Hal Hunt Auctions
Major collectors of the best in American Rococo probably have already directed their attention to the February 21st Hal Hunt Auction of the Gerald Lawhorn collection. Lawhorn founded the Griffin, GA PetroSouth chain of g
Antique Purchasing Poll Results
It's been almost two days since I put up the poll on antique purchasing and the response distribution has stayed relatively the same since the early votes so I thought I'd share the results thus far. It seems that 50% of
Are You Tempering Your Antique Purchases In This Economic Downturn?
I had to resist signing a check and handing it over the the dealer who was displaying this birdseye Maple bedroom suite. I am in need of a bedroom set badly and my wife reminds me regularly about the bare mattress in one
Lincoln's 200th Birthday - Library of Congress Images
It seems odd that the states in U.S. can't make up their mind as to what President's Day should be called or who it should honor. Depending up on the state you live in, it may be called "Washington's Birthday", "Presiden
Not A Belter Work/Sewing Table
I received a note from Joan Bogart about the table that was profiled in a few previous posts. It was documented in the book, "The Furniture of John Henry Belter and the Rococo Revival" on page 83. Joan feels that the tab
Staircases Are Not Furniture
I have a new pet peeve - though I need a stronger way to express my disdain for this practice but I'll keep the blog clean. The removal of historic staircases from homes that are not being demolished is a low way to secu
Strange Things Happen
On February 2nd I published a post about a John Henry Belter work table and explain that by blogging about it I was imprinting it's form in my brain. February 7th I spot what I think is a larger version of the same table
Don’t Believe All That You Read, Part III
I'd like to get back to the series of posts on issues with using furniture books, catalogs, and ads as proof-positive sources for furniture maker attributions (Trade Catalogs Can Be Misleading; Don’t Believe All That Y
John Henry Belter's Miscellanea
Those of you who visit this site regularly and/or are John Henry Belter furniture fans are very familiar with his over-the-top Rococo parlor furniture - tables, chairs, settees, meridiennes... But there are, of course, o
New Orleans Auction - St. Charles Gallery "Spectacular Winter Sale"
I was pressed for time this week, otherwise I would have given you more advanced warning of this sale which is happening today and tomorrow in New Orleans. The above-pictured Belter-attributed table will be part of the s
Antiques Roadshow Herter Brothers "Burn Mark" Parlor Table
As Michael Flanigan said in this Antiques Roadshow appraisal, if this table hadn't been branded "Herter Bros", I would have passed it off as a nice Rosewood Renaissance Revival table. However this is indeed a true Herter
Hunzinger 1869 Patent Chair
Whoa. It has taken me 5 days to isolate an issue on this blog that prevented me from creating new posts. It is easier to troubleshoot problems where nothing works at all then to troubleshoot the case where everything wor
Trade Catalogs Can Be Misleading
I hadn't intended yesterday's blog post to be first in a multi-part series, but as I lay awake last night after dealing with a sick puppy, it occurred to me that I had been saving up a bunch of material for a post on Geo
Don't Believe All That You Read
You need to retain a healthy dose of suspicion when you read anything in books related to 19th century furniture and the identification of their makers contained within. That caution also includes what you read on this s
Robert Mitchell High-Back Arm Chair #66-1337 A
I knew eventually that this chair would turn up and it finally has. This is the Robert Mitchell High-back Arm Chair from his ca. 1902 catalog, model #66-1337 A. The "A" designates the Mahogany version of the chair, which
Victorian Antique Lorillard Tobacco Cabinet
Not something that you'd hang above your Rococo or Aesthetic Movement sofa, but here's a great 1880s Victorian tobacco cabinet from the Lorilard Tobacco Company, which operated 100 years prior to this cabinet's creation
Birdseye Maple Dresser Identification
Here's a little "in-the-field" reporting as I spend some time away from home this weekend on the Chesapeake Bay visiting some friends and shopping with my wife. Fortunately for me, there is a selection of girlie shops wi
Bonham's Selling Warner Brothers' Studio Collection of Herter Brothers Furniture
In what one Hollywood blogger is referring to as a Warner Brothers garage sale, Bonham's is offering one of the most important Herter Brothers collections seen at sale in over 60 years. This sale represents over $1,000,0
“Hunzinger Chair” Mystery Part III
Sorry if this series of posts is hitting the press slowly, but that is intentional as I am getting new information real-time and I want to be sure that you get it as it rolls in. As we've been exploring in the past two p
"Hunzinger Chair" Mystery Part II
Continuing from where the last post left off,we were trying to determine if an unlabeled chair that Zeke Feldhaus recently purchased was produced by George Hunzinger due to the patent-protected brace design (very bottom
"Hunzinger Chair" Mystery Part I
I hope everyone had a great holiday break as did I, but it's time for us all to get back to normalcy. Let's kick off year 3 of Rare Victorian with a little furniture analysis triggered by a recent series of emails from Z
Victorian Transitional Sidechair - Gothic Revival Meets Rococo Revival
Sometimes in the Victorian era of furniture making, you can see the confluence of two styles in one piece simultaneously as you can see with this sidechair to the right. Both Gothic Revival (spires, arches, crockets) and
Caille Eclipse Upright Antique Slot Machine
What I wouldn't give to have one of these antique slot machines sitting amongst my Victorian antiques in the parlor. I'm in the process of selling my ca. 1999 pool table whose removal will open a new swath of floor real
20 Foot Clawfoot Table
I thought that you might be interested in seeing a 20 foot clawfoot table that I captured from my camera phone in the Fry's electronics store in Los Angeles. The original marble top has been replaced with a modern glass
Mitchell & Rammelsberg Music/Map Rack
A quick mention that there is just a day left on a music/map rack on Ebay that bears the original Mitchell & Rammelsberg stencil. It's not often that you find these with their original maker names on them, let alone
Victorian Antique Furniture Books For The Holidays
If you need a relatively inexpensive gift for the holidays for a Victorian collector, the Victorian Antique book page is a good source for some ideas. Most of the links on the page are to Amazon.com which is a very effic
New York Neo-Classical Ebonized Cabinet
If I wasn't in cash-conserving home-rebuild mode I'd possibly snap up this excellent 1860s Neo-classical (Neo-Grec) cabinet. One can never have too many of these space-hogging extravagances. They cost even more than the
Antique Marble and Stone Identification
I've created an antique marble/stone reference below to provide us with a little more information on what types of stone and marble went into the furniture of the Victorian era. I've started this "reference" with images
Speaking Of Antique Brass ...
Antique Brass is a passion for many, and Zeke had mentioned in a comment that he'd like to see more mention of antique brass items on this site and I just happen to have the occasion to do so. I recently ran across this
Rare Victorian Visual Archive
Ever wanted to go back and see what posts have been on Rare Victorian in years & months past, looking for something? Try the new Rare Victorian visual archive page by clicking on the link in the far right column and
Photograph of George Hunzinger
I thought I'd share a photograph from a newspaper article on George Hunzinger that I received from RV regular Zeke. Thanks, Zeke.
Victorian Renaissance Revival Towel Rack
I try to avoid making my 1887 Victorian home a clutter-fest with all sorts of Victoriana dripping off of the walls and table surfaces. I have a bare minimum of art and some period statues, candelabras, Victorian wall she
Aesthetic Art Brass Plant Stands
During the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century, brass, lighting and silverplate manufacturers produced "Art Brass" furnishings as an extension of their existing business for middle-to-upper class families. They w
George Hunzinger Renaissance Revival Chair
This past weekend saw a pair of these George Hunzinger chairs go for $6,000 at auction and now there is a single chair currently seeing some bidding with six days left in the sale, above. It is currently bid up to $1,825
Update To Israel Fellows Post
I have updated the Israel Fellows post to reflect an important omission that I made when preparing the first posting. Thanks to a comment from Max Foote, I "reopened the investigation". I guess you could say we exhumed t
Graining Machines Simulate Hardwood Grains
Yes, something was awry with the dresser that I provided the image of in the last post and kudos to those commentators who spotted it. It was made ca. 1910 by the Arcadia Furniture Co. of Arcadia, Michigan using cheaper