American decorative arts · circa 1840 – 1900
Victorian furniture, researched and archived.
Object notes, maker attributions, and auction finds from the American Victorian era — organized as a reference library for collectors and researchers.
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For The Record
For the Record: Daniel Pabst, the Hand Behind the "Furness" Modern Gothic Cabinet
The Met's towering Modern Gothic cabinet is attributed to both Frank Furness and Daniel Pabst — designer and maker. Here's why the distinction between the two roles matters when you're cataloging one of these pieces.
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Aesthetic Movement Spiderweb Chair
Here is a really unique Aesthetic Movement chair for sale incorporating a spiderweb, spider and butterfly caught in the web. The design of the back also includes a pair of what appear to be palm fronds, a wreath, a ribbo
A Real Rare Victorian Mystery - Part II
Where we left off yesterday in Part I of this story was that I was noticing some differences between Kathie's chair and those that had previously sold at auction. The most prominent difference for me were the shield carv
The Lengths I Won't Go To...
Guess who is the new owner of one of the chairs in the recent Henkels attribution drama. The lengths I won't go to to make sure Rare Victorian readers get the best information ... In reality, I have been wanting to own o
For The Record: Israel Fellows
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
Global and U.S. Antique Popularity Trends
As a website owner, I use a lot of tools to assess traffic patterns on my sites, and while doing so recently, I decided that I could use one of them to roughly judge global and U.S. trends for the antiques industry. I wa
Didn't Win The House Of Representatives Bookcase
Just a quick note to pass on very bad news confirmed this morning. I didn't win the House of Representatives Bookcase that I bid on this weekend at the Harlowe Powell sale. Apparently my $1,625.00 bid was not enough to t
The record is in the objects. Research what survives.— The Rare Victorian archive, est. 2008
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641 documented objects
Furniture forms, auction records, maker attributions, and collector notes — organized as a working research library.