First, just getting in the mood for Valentine's Day,which I look on as a day for friendship, nothing to do with romantic relationships, which are a Hallmark idea that excludes far too many people. But we can all find friends one way or another, and any way, years ago I got on a mobile making streak, and this is one I made. And there will be treats to eat to celebrate the day, once I decide on them.
Over in Beautiful Metaphor, https://beautifulmetaphor.blogspot.com, I talk more about this and how to do it. Blogger won't let me make a valid link to my other blog, so, sorry, it's cut and paste if you want to check it out.
Meanwhile, back online I was involved in a thread about looking at common things more acutely, and it brought me inevitably back to dovetails, and how to look at old furniture. I love all the clever ways carpenters and cabinetmakers joined invisibly or otherwise, furniture, with knowledge of wood and its tendencies. It's a whole universe of knowledge.
Years ago I taught adult classes at the local college and in adult schools on how to identify antiques. Some people were interested in furniture, so we did a bit of exploring of the sorts of features to look for. I also used to bring in a part of a piece of furniture and challenge them to identify what it came from. My favorite was a lovely old rosewood side piece from a dining chair, and it baffled almost everyone. So I explained how knowing this sort of thing was a great help in barn sales or yard sales where stuff was cluttered up and stacked. Auctions are the most expensive way to go, avoid them.
Good to examine furniture upside down, sideways, etc., so you can really see what's there. And the joins are a good indication of age and craftsmanship. Take a look around your house and see what you've got, especially if they're family pieces.
Here's a nineteenth century join, in an oak washstand drawer, clearly machine made, and nice quality joining. Not a hairline gap even after all this time. It's also an attractive shape.
And here's an old piece, probably hand cut dovetails, which may indicate age or just a craftsman wanting to do handwork. In this case, it's pretty old, but not very, since it's part of a printer's box, used to store metal type. But it does date back to setting type in a wooden forme, then printing from that. But not exactly back to Caxton.
When my brother was an apprentice in the building trade, long ago, his first task was to build his own toolbox. These printer's boxes make me wonder if the same was true in the printing business.
And here's a nice Mission style drawer from a coffee table, fairly modern, since coffee tables weren't a thing back then, but a very nice quality, because you see there's dovetailing front and back. Often you'll find furniture with front dovetails where they can be seen, and just nailing at the back where people don't get to look.
And here's a piece made by a craftsman friend from rescued bits of wood around the shop, just put together in a good enough fashion, no need to get fancy. Nails and glue for a decorative tiny drawer in the top of a library table.
I used to have great fun with students all so keen to identify their own possessions and learn more about what they might find at a flea market. Tips such as: just because an antique cup is set on a saucer, don't assume they belong together. Old trick to make you think so. Look again.
And just because someone's grandmother owned a set of dishes and she "lived on a farm", supposedly a guarantee of antiquity, doesn't mean she couldn't have fancied new dishes after WW2 and got a set of Fiesta, lovely bright colors, and as modern as can be. Collectible, appealing, but not rare, nor antique.
BREAKING NEWS: on the insect front. this morning I found a sleepy fuzzy bumblebee on its back on the windowsill. I'm guessing he had hibernated in a plant, probably the orchid I was given in the Fall, and was just now coming to. So I collected him in a paper tissue, hearing him waking up and buzzing indignantly from within, and set him outside in a sunny spot near the edge of the empty flower pots and the deck where he could find shelter and leaves to keep him warm until there's pollen available. I looked out a few minutes later and he'd gone. So I'm guessing he knew what to do.
Interesting about dove tails. I treasure an old window frame put together with wooden pegs. I hope your bumblebee buzzes happily.
ReplyDeleteThere's a moth that's been flying around my apartment for months. I suspect it is close to the living 4 months as a moth. I haven't seen it in a while. Sad.
You are so knowledgable about so many things! I never cease to be amazed. My grandfather had wanted to be a cabinet maker, got a job at a young age with a very fine furniture making company but he proceeded to cut all of the fingers of his left hand off while using a saw that did not have the guard on it. The company trained him as a wood-buyer and that was what he did his entire life. He still loved making furniture though, and had a shop in his garage. The smell of wood and of laquer takes me right back. I respect good furniture.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I learned from watching Pawn Stars was that just because something is old doesn't make it valuable. The old man would say, "I have dirt in my yard that's millions of years old. It ain't worth nothing."
Yes, people who love to work with wood never lose that relationship. My friend who made the library table above is very interesting on the subject of wood grains. We have long convos on it, and he really likes to have a person very much interested in what he knows. His wife, though dear, is a school admin, zero interest in making, though she likes his work.
DeleteThose are great tips. I would have enjoyed your class.
ReplyDeleteIt was such fun, always filled and with a waiting list. We covered a wide range, needlework, pottery and porcelain, glass, silverware, furniture, something for everyone. At that time I had examples of everything I was teaching each session, to handle and pass around. People learned where to look for marks, signatures, hallmarks etc. It was great fun. When I moved to an apartment and sold the contents of the house, I stopped teaching, not useful without examples to hand.
DeleteDovetailing at the front, nails in the rear! It does pay to look closely, LOL!
ReplyDeleteIt pays to be assertive and insist on closely examining any purported antique or craftsman made piece.
DeleteI am lucky enough to have and have had (now passed onto other family members) many pieces belonging to my great and grandmothers. I would have enjoyed your class very much.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you would. It was so great teaching it and seeing people acquire knowledge and unravel the mysteries of their possessions.
DeleteHearing about your bee reminded me that every fall my mother would always bring in a couple ladybugs that ended up living on the houseplants all winter. She never had a problem with aphids and I suspect the 'ladies' were the reason.
ReplyDeleteI would have enjoyed taking your class!
Your class does sound like fun. And you've made me want to creatively photograph some old things I have here. Just to see them differently... Interesting post, Liz.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they'll get onto your blog?
Delete