# Dating Antique Furniture **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272 "2006-01-10T04:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/1 "2006-01-10T04:21:59Z")
And no, I certainly do not mean dinner and a movie. Dave and I were fortunate enough to pick up some beautiful antique dining room furniture today for next to nothing. They’re beautiful pieces which have dire need of refinishing; they’re at least 60 years old (based on the construction), but I think they might be much older or at least made to look much older. Does anyone here know how to date furniture? I have pictures. [Buffet](http://fff.fathom.org/pages/GingerOfTheNorth/buffet.jpg) [China Cabinet](http://fff.fathom.org/pages/GingerOfTheNorth/china%20cabinet.jpg) I’m leaning toward Art Nouveau, myself, but I really don’t know much about furniture design outside of what I’ve read online. The buffet is approximately 6’ long, and the china cabinet is about 4’ wide. If you need more information, just ask. Thanks for the help! ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/2 "2006-01-10T04:32:14Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > And no, I certainly do not mean dinner and a movie. I opened this thread expecting to see something about a dating experience with…someone old. :smack: Somehow the title seemed like a metaphor. Sorry I couldn’t be of help. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/3 "2006-01-10T04:43:54Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I opened this thread expecting to see something about a dating experience with…someone old. :smack: Somehow the title seemed like a metaphor. Well, there was this _really_ cute Ottoman one time, but he mumbled some excuse about “his empire breaking up” and left early. Sorry, I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/4 "2006-01-10T04:54:01Z")
Have you tried to find a manufacturer’s name on either of the pieces? It’ll probably be on the bottom of a drawer or somewhere inconspicuous. If you can find a name, you ought to be able to Google it and track down the dates they were active. if you’r elucky, you might even be able to track down an old catalogue or the like and find your exact furniture, if it was mass produced. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/5 "2006-01-10T04:57:38Z")
I tried to google for “dating antique furniture.” Boy, was I surprised to find something there that wasn’t work-safe. [http://www.healthyandactive.com/liweco.html](http://www.healthyandactive.com/liweco.html) Yeah… um. I got nothin’ either. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/6 "2006-01-10T05:09:15Z")
All I’ve got is that I immediately thought “1920’s” when I saw the china cabinet. I’m basing that on furniture belonging to a friend’s mom. Here’s an idea. See if you can find old Sear’s or Eaton’s catalogues either at the library or online. That should give you an idea of what stuff looked like during different periods. Another idea is to take a pic to your local antique dealer. A better idea might be at see if someone at your local Goodwill or Sally Ann knows. They’re a lot less likely to scam you and try to persuade you into selling the pieces. BTW, very nice! I’m dripping envy! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/7 "2006-01-10T05:15:10Z")
The OP title immediately made me think of this website: [http://www.furnitureporn.com/](http://www.furnitureporn.com/) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/8 "2006-01-10T06:11:26Z")
For me, it brought to mind one of those old NYNEX yellow pages ads when they were doing a pun theme and they had a sofa peforming a strip-tease of its upholstery. (The punch line of that one was “furniture stripping”. The tag line for that ad campaign was “If it’s out there, it’s in here.” Other example that I remember is “fishing tackle”) ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/9 "2006-01-10T13:20:15Z")
You might want to try this site, especially if you can snap a digital photo or three of each piece to upload: [http://www.whatsitworthtoyou.com/](http://www.whatsitworthtoyou.com/) You have to register, but simple ID of your items would be $2.25 each, and you can also get appraisals or more in-depth info for pretty reasonable fees. I tried them with some china pieces with patterns and manufacturers I couldn’t identify, and got answers back in less than a day and a half. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/10 "2006-01-10T13:30:50Z")
Actually, [this link](http://www.whatsitworthtoyou.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=asktheexpert.main) goes straight to the “Ask an Expert” section. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/11 "2006-01-10T15:07:25Z")
I’d say '20s or later. Aside from the design, the construction is the telling thing. If the backs are plywood, and carry a manufacturer’s label or stenciled and painted numbers, you’re dealing with mass-produced furniture. Also check if the wood is veneered or solid. It looks to me from the pictures like the doors and drawer fronts are probably veneered, which again would indicate mass production here, and probably a date from the '20s or later. Stylistically, these pieces seem to be derived from French provincial furniture, with, in the case of the china cabinet, an Art Nouveau overlay. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/12 "2006-01-10T15:27:56Z")
The wood is solid, no veneer, surprisingly. There is a(n unreadable) label on the back; I already knew they were mass-produced as opposed to artisan - my dad is a carpenter/cabinetmaker - you pick up things like this, being surrounded by artisan work. I emailed a local guy who is always posting antique and vintage furniture on the local Craigslist, and he has given me an approximate of the late 1920s. Matches up with Sal’s guess. They desperately need refinishing. They’re currently painted in this sort of streaky gold paint. Who on earth does that to beautiful old wood? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/13 "2006-01-10T17:45:01Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > They desperately need refinishing. They’re currently painted in this sort of streaky gold paint. Who on earth does that to beautiful old wood? I think it was a '70s fad. I once found a dresser from about the 1840s that had been painted this way. You’ve got two choices here: you can either strip the paint, or you can install hideous wood paneling throughout your house to make it match the furniture. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/14 "2006-01-10T17:53:00Z")
Paging **Lissa** … ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/15 "2006-01-10T18:22:36Z")
Ahhh, they’re 1920’s-style “Death Dates”. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/16 "2006-01-10T19:22:08Z")
A couple of times I dated an occasional piece. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/17 "2006-01-11T00:33:39Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > They desperately need refinishing. They’re currently painted in this sort of streaky gold paint. Who on earth does that to beautiful old wood? Ugh. I hate running across furniture like that. My mom has a dresser that was her great-great-grandmother’s, and it has something like four different layers of pastel paint on it. We mean to strip it some day and varnish it, but that would mean we’d have to move it and it weighs a ton. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dating-antique-furniture/339272/18 "2006-01-11T07:28:37Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > A couple of times I dated an occasional piece. I once stripped a French dresser.