# What is this piece of furniture ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600 "2008-06-11T18:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bossy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@bossy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bossy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/1 "2008-06-11T18:16:58Z")
Just saw this on criagslist (New York) … what is it ? [http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/laf/716180472.html](http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/laf/716180472.html) ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/2 "2008-06-11T18:21:51Z")
Looks like an old-style dresser; a mirror would have been mounted on the wall in back. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/3 "2008-06-11T18:26:24Z")
Art Deco vanity, missing the mirror ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/4 "2008-06-11T18:26:53Z")
The attractive assistant lies across the top, and the magician saws down the middle… No, what **tanstaafl** said; it’s a dressing table. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/5 "2008-06-11T21:19:28Z")
Hmm–for me a dresser is a chest of drawers, and a dressing table=vanity. ---
**Author:** ![bossy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@bossy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bossy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/6 "2008-06-11T21:24:26Z")
and a follow-up question … any idea if this is possibly a valuable antique ? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/7 "2008-06-11T22:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Hmm–for me a dresser is a chest of drawers, and a dressing table=vanity. [/QUOTE] Yep, it’s a vanity, my grandmother had one almost exactly like it (with a mirror), and she called it a “dressing table.” [QUOTE=bossy] and a follow-up question .. any idea if this is possibly a valuable antique ? [/QUOTE] I know my grandmother’s was an antique and I see little difference in the two, so I bet this one is an antique. I have no clue whether it’s worth anything though. ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/8 "2008-06-11T23:53:48Z")
Art Deco TV stand. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/9 "2008-06-11T23:58:06Z")
There are identical horizontal lines on the inner part of the “towers”, close to the top, where the stain/finish didn’t reach. I bet there was a shelf or some other kind of support there that would have held a mirror. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/10 "2008-06-12T00:15:56Z")
I’ve seen one like it. This one lacks the large, elegant, oval mirror above the center. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/11 "2008-06-12T02:00:15Z")
It looks awfully low in the picture, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/12 "2008-06-12T02:04:03Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] It looks awfully low in the picture, doesn’t it? [/QUOTE] That’s what I’m thinking. Most of the vanities I’ve seen have a knee hole in the middle where the chair goes, so Claudette Colbert can sit down as she applies her lipstick and checks her marcelled hair. I think this is too low for a vanity or dressing table. Maybe just a dresser with a shelf for a mirror? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/13 "2008-06-12T02:44:32Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] It looks awfully low in the picture, doesn’t it? [/QUOTE] It does seem low, but that’s just the style. There would have been a little seat that was more like a footstool in terms of height. Here is a picture of another [dressing table](http://www.niallmullenantiques.com/art-deco-photos/art-deco-living/art-deco-living-0018.jpg) – different style, but also low. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/14 "2008-06-12T03:28:27Z")
[QUOTE=bossy] and a follow-up question .. any idea if this is possibly a valuable antique ? [/QUOTE] All that lovely cross-grain wood is veneer, and very prone to bubble, crack, chip, and peel. If the veneer is in perfect shape and you can find a mirror (I would expect a three panel, not an oval) it could fetch a fair price. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/15 "2008-06-12T03:35:53Z")
I think it’s the new Enron logo. Mind you, they’re on a budget. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/16 "2008-06-12T07:07:14Z")
I’ve seen things a bit like this described as ‘telephone cabinet’ (the idea being that the telephone goes on the taller bit and you perch temporarily/occasionally on the lower piece - although they usually only have one tall side, so it may not be one of those. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/17 "2008-06-12T07:26:51Z")
Here’s what it’s supposed to look (overall) like with the mirror: [antique-art.com.au - antique art Resources and Information.](http://www.antique-art.com.au/item.cfm?thisitem=28220&start=start) I’ve seen enough of these that I was under the impression they were mass-produced and popular at some point, but not necessarily valuable. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/18 "2008-06-12T21:57:47Z")
The one I saw was more mirror than dresser. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-piece-of-furniture/452600/19 "2008-06-13T00:45:10Z")
This particular style with the curved veneer top is called waterfall. The dressers I have priced in this style run from $100 to $500 depending on the nature of the piece, its condition and who is selling it and the size of the piece. This was a mass produced style popular from the 20s-40s. This [page](http://www.jitterbuzz.com/indfur.html) has much more information.