How old is your furniture? Is it American or English?
If you think it’s 19th century, is it early 19th century (1800-1830)?
Clues you DO have an early 19th century piece of furniture: the piece has strict lines, and seems based on Classical Style (Greek and Roman design), as opposed to a more fluid, organic flowing style (Art Nouveau). The finish is a honey brown, aged to perfection, if someone hasn’t refinished it.- When you slide your hand across the UNSEEN areas of the undercarriage or the very bottom board of the underside of the drawers, do you feel the evidence of hand-planing by a carpenter?
If you think it originated in the mid to late 19th century, is it mid (1840-1860) or late (1860-1900)?
- Clues you own a mid to late 19th century piece: the piece resembles a little classical main street America bank building, quite rigid; the finish quite dark and imposing (deep mahogany). I think of this period as the sarcophagus period, because the furniture is massy and looks like little caskets.
- Clues you have a mid to late 19th century piece: it looks like a reproduction of an earlier period. You might possess a piece of REVIVAL furniture so popular in this era. Examples are renaissance revival furniture, pieces that look like the Italian Renaissance, or the Elizabethan period revitalized. Think of the furniture at Hearst Castle. This is the great era of copying early great styles. Many people THINK they have a 16th century piece when they have a piece from 1880.
- The later period of the Victorian era looks frilly, curvy. A piece like this appears rather ginger-bready. The alternative style so popular in this period is the Eastlake or Aesthetic Movement style. A piece from that genre shows the influence of the discovery of Asian furniture, and has straighter lines like MOST late Victorian era furniture. A special offshoot of the Aesthetic movement turned into the Craftsman period. From then we have Arts and Crafts, or Mission, style furniture.
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Now the relative values of the above furniture
Early 19th century AMERICAN furniture can hold value. In this period in our country most craftsmen based furniture on styles popular with the upper classes in England and handmade the furniture in small shops on our East Coast. Their attention to detail appears remarkable, and this era serves as a masterclass in great carpentry. Good news is this period is the most valuable period for all 19th century furniture today. Bad news is this era dropped in value about 20 years ago.
The second period I spoke about, the ‘sarcophagus’ looking furniture. This is a period influenced by Napoleon’s favorite style, in France, called “Empire.” It looks very stately, severe, magisterial. One of my favorite eras, Ralph Lauren popularized it in the decoration of his flagship store in 1980’s-1990’s New York. Yet this period, called American Empire is FLAT on the market today.
The next era, Renaissance Revival does the absolute poorest on the market today. That’s the Hearst Castle furniture. BIG and cumbersome, it presumes to be something it is NOT: GRAND.
Victorian furniture (gingerbread) is also FLAT in the market because the prevailing style today is linear. Mid century modern being popular; Zen and minimalism being counterintuitive in a linear landscape.
Aesthetic movement or Eastlake or Craftsman style is moderately good on the market, but not as good as I predict these styles will become again. The golden age of Mission/Craftsman happened about 25 years ago, when the Bungalow style was so popular. Barbara Streisand was a big collector of this style, but she sold out many years ago.
In summary:
19th century English and American furniture is problematic to SELL today. Some of my clients who purchased great 19th century furniture in the 1980-1990’s can’t sell today, and many donate these pieces. But there are many reasons to purchase something from the 19th century, especially if it’s early 19th century, when you see it in your local thrift store. Because it’s well made, completely WHOLE wood, and not veneered chipboard, and it have done all its outgassing!