Tag archive
Victorian
Posts tagged Victorian from the RareVictorian furniture archive.
Daniel M. Karcher Bookcase For William S. Auchincloss
It's not often that you can definitively identify a maker for a particular piece of Victorian furniture and equally rare is identifying a piece's original customer. When lucky enough to have some of this information, you
"Massachusetts Style" Cabinet
Some might be tempted to put a New York attribution on this Neo-Grec cabinet, including myself, but not so fast this time. This one was made in Manchester, Massachusetts by John Bigwood in 1875. We know this because he t
What's It Worth?
Antique Value Having a blog that is well entrenched into the Google search results leads a lot of new site visitors here that send me photos of their items asking, "what is the value of this antique?" The problem is, it
The Rare Victorian Store Launches
It's high time I selectively whittle my Victorian antique collection down as I have bought and bought and ran out of space to put it all in. Therefore, the Rare Victorian Antiques Store has been born! I will be adding mo
Frank Otremba Family History
From time to time I hear from descendants of the great 19th Century cabinetmakers and it is always fun to hear their family stories. This one is from the great-granddaughter of Frank N. Otremba, a highly-skilled Hawaiian
Shupe & Noble "Climax" Folding Bed
I was contacted by a Rare Victorian visitor about a Shupe & Noble bed that they would like to sell and I thought it would be good to share with everyone for two reasons: 1) the maker is known and is not one that I've
Allen & Brother Nightstand For Sale
Available for sale is this nightstand with original marble top and "A" key, attributed to the famous Philadelphia cabinetmaking shop of Allen & Brother. All four sides have decorative birdseye maple panels. These pan
Don't Forget Canadian Cabinetmakers
Book Review: "Jacques & Hay 19th Century Toronto Furniture Makers" by Ruth Cathcart Jacques & Hay is a name that pops up frequently in the Victorian-era furniture world within Canada. It reminds me of how the Jel
For Sale: Brunswick & Balke "Monarch" Billiard Table
The Brunswick & Balke Monarch was manufactured for 26 years, between 1868 and 1894, with this model probably dating in the 1870s/1880s. With a highly decorative design incorporating four black and gold lions and heav
Own A Piece Of Victorian Web Real Estate
I have decided to depart with some of my premium Internet domain names relating to Victorian antique furniture. If you are interested in owning the primary domains for famous Victorian cabinetmakers and eras, then this i
Victorian Dollhouse Furniture
I recently purchased a new parlor set, but this time I have room for it. Not my usual cup of tea - this is a circa 1999 Rococo parlor set from China, but it's resemblance to the furniture of the makers we often discuss c
Does “Victorian” Really Have Any Meaning?
Photo courtesy of Liveauctioneers Now that we’ve tackled the semantics of Empire vs. Late Classical, let’s take a crack at something larger – the word “Victorian.” Does “Victorian” really have any meaning?
Need Tips On Visiting Cape May, NJ
photo by wasabi_bob There is a reasonable chance that I will be visiting Cape May soon and am reaching out to the Rare Vic community to see if anyone has tips on which houses to visit and places to antique/se
Victorian Brass/Bronze Hardware
If you are a fan of Victorian brass & bronze door hardware, there is a recent post in the Victorian forum that has extensive images of ornate hardware collections from "stever". Steve has photos of hardware manufactu
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
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
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
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
19th Century Victorian Furniture in ... Sweden
No this isn't the predecessor to Ikea, but it is an interesting look into furniture designs in areas of the world other than the France, Italy, U.S., and U.K. that we're used to. This is an original catalog of furniture
Allen & Brother or Herter Brothers Bedroom Suite
I was contacted by the recent buyer of the above bedstead, which is part of a two-piece suite. There is no question it is a very desirable set and I'd be happy to have it in one of my bedrooms. It is constructed of solid
Unusual Tin-Clad Victorian Armchair
No this isn't a high-end piece of Victoriana. This chair is "Rare" for another reason - that is not silver paint. This Victorian-era chair is clad completely in Tin and appears to have been done so originally. I've never
Collecting Victorian-Era Clocks
The world of Victorian antique furniture seems a bit slow right now so I thought I'd post a bit about another niche of collecting - clocks. To be honest, I use these clocks more for effect than for timekeeping. Who wants
"Hand-Made" Victorian Furniture Does Not Mean 100% Hand-Made
I thought I'd share this excerpt from a 1980 dissertation by Page Talbot, "THE PHILADELPHIA FURNITURE INDUSTRY 1850 TO 1880". This dissertation was written to partially fulfill her requirements to achieve the degree of D
Video - Final Episode: Refinishing A Merklen Brothers “Shabby” Table
Well, the table is finished and it looks fantastic. In this final episode, John Hutchinson of Rose Valley Restorations in West Chester, PA explains the process that he, Kyle, and Bill followed to bring the table to this
Video - Part III: Refinishing A Merklen Brothers "Shabby" Table
A quick update on the table's progress in this video. It is fully stripped and sanded and the quartersawn Oak shows in all it's bare glory. We select stain for the wood and paint for the griffins. Video Part I and Part I
Original Manufacturer Catalog Section Open!
I've christened a new section of Rare Victorian that will house Adobe Acrobat versions of original manufacturer catalogs that I have collected. Right now there is only one - The Dawley Furniture Company from 1897 - but h
Video - Part II: Refinishing A Merklen Brothers "Shabby" Table
Here's Part II of the Merklen Brothers table refinish project. If you didn't view the first Part yet, I recommend you watch it first, here. In this episode, I'm in the shop of my favorite local furniture restoration busi
It's A Good Time For Rare Victorian Billiard Tables
John (AKA Woodwright) has sent me a message that I thought would fit well as a post on Rare Victorian. Little did he know that he had became the first guest-poster on RV ;-) John is a relatively recent addition to the co
Video: Refinishing A Merklen Brothers "Shabby" Table
This will be the first of hopefully many video blog posts here on Rare Victorian in the future. I did end up rescuing the Merklen Brothers table from this previous post and I hope to capture the transformation on video f
Antique Victorian Brunswick & Balke Billiard Table
For Victorian antique billiard table fans, this table made by Brunswick & Balke in 1878 is coming up at auction by Bob Courtney Auctions on May 17th. This is the best looking table I have ever laid my eyes upon and i
Americans Have No History of Their Own
I ran across this Yorkshire Post newspaper article about the BBC and it's tendency to produce Victorian-era dramas (and scant more) on target with what I've always unconsciously felt. It seems that any time I channel sur
70-Foot Christmas Trees and a Key West Christmas
We have not yet had a chance to host a family Christmas at "Pennyscroft" since the family rotation has taken us to Florida each of the past two Christmases that we've had since buying the home. Chrismas can be quite gran
Our New Top Ten List
Check out our new "Top Ten Signs You Should Have Lived During the Victorian Age". It's aim is to have some fun with the sometimes Victorian-obsessed with a little humor. We hope to update the list periodically and would