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RE: Early 20th century furniture review - Paul K. Murphy - 07-03-2018
Edge to edge matches are book matched. When the butt ends of the leaves are matched, it's a butt match.
RE: Early 20th century furniture review - Paul K. Murphy - 07-03-2018
I'm viewing on my phone, so I can't see too well. The match might be a four way book and butt match. Those top to bottom arches look very symmetrical.
RE: Early 20th century furniture review - Paul K. Murphy - 07-03-2018
I just looked it up in Earnest Joyce’s, “Encyclopedia of Furniture Making.” (I got a very nice edition at the library sale recently. It is hardcover, and replaces my old torn to pieces softcover. Less than two bucks! Yayy me!)
“End or butt matched (297:4) The top leaf folded down as in book form matching.” The numeric reference is for the illustration. It isn’t a particularly good illustration, but it’s servicable.
I use the traditional language of the trade. In this day and age of planes with blades, jointers with blades, and sheets of veneer, I still adhere to the traditional lingo. Most folks, even instructors of various stripes, refer to butt matches as book matches. Not me.
RE: Early 20th century furniture review - Paul K. Murphy - 07-03-2018
Just a couple of other quick observations about that highboy:
1: Those two downturned spaces on the bottom rail would be the place to find the pendants. The opposite of a finial, a pendant hangs down. If this was an authentic piece, I would look for evidence that the pendants had gone missing. Missing pendants is a common occurrence for 18th Century pieces. They would often be of an acorn shape. This piece looks like it was built without pendants, kind of like how we might build a Sphinx without a nose. Look for holes anyway, just for kicks. Those pendants (or non-pendant spaces) take up the places of where the legs would have been on an earlier period (William and Mary) six legged frame. I know they’re common in Boston, but I can’t remember if they’re a sure thing for identifying a cabinet as originating in Boston, Massachusetts, or even if I’m off. Heck, maybe even in Connecticut one might find them, I just can’t remember. (It’s been a long time since I was on the pulse of American Colonial furniture. I’ve forgotten a lot.)
2: Those wooden knobs! ::barf::
3: I see it better now than I did before. I don’t think the drawers are a four way book and butt match.
4: Most of these observations are more germane for authentic pieces. This piece is a revival.
RE: Early 20th century furniture review - mr_skittle - 07-09-2018
Wow Paul, you're the wealth of knowledge I've been waiting for. Thanks very much.
I know all this info is on the web somewhere but I've yet to find it nicely organized and I finally got a couple books from the library but I'm still looking through tons of unrelated stuff to look for what I need. Some of the better books I could fine on the topic were guides to collecting antiques. I have every intention of continuing my own research but if you Mr. Murphy, could stop by and share your knowledge it would be fantastic. I'll get some more pics up soon.
RE: Early 20th century furniture review - Paul K. Murphy - 07-11-2018
Quote:...if you Mr. Murphy, could stop by and share your knowledge it would be fantastic...If I could just give folks one easy morsel of information to guide their inquiries, it would be this: Feel the BuRN. We all know that saying from exercise at the gym, and more recently as part of the last Presidential campaign. During the golden age of furniture, roughly the latter part of the Seventeenth Century until the early portion of the Nineteenth Century, there was a progression of three principal styles. In order:
The BuRN
1- Baroque- First of the three
2- Rococo- Second of the three
3- Neoclassical- The third Style of the golden age.
If you are examining an item from the golden age, this is the first question to resolve. Baroque, Rococo, or Neoclassical? Which is it? Forget about Chippendale, Federal, Duncan Phyfe, and etc. (for now only please), and resolve which STYLE the piece conforms to. These basic styles sweep across national boundaries, and individual makers. A good book to familiarize oneself with this material is, “Antique Furniture”, by Anne Stone.
Federal Furniture? Baroque, Rococo, or Neoclassical? Which is it?
Duncan Phyfe? Baroque, Rococo, or Neoclassical? Which is it?
Queen Anne? Baroque, Rococo, or Neoclassical? Which is it?
Louis XV? Baroque, Rococo, or Neoclassical? Which is it?
Biedermeier? Baroque, Rococo, or Neoclassical? Which is it?
The responses to the above should be easy and automatic.
That’s my advice.
Oh, and “Queen Anne” (strictly an American, Colonial designation BTW), that’s Late Baroque Style. What about Philadelphia Chippendale? Well that came after, didn’t it? What comes after “B”? That’s right. Philadelphia Chippendale is Rococo Style.