The practical book of period furniture

Every book ought to have a definite reason for its being. In the present instance that reason is that hitherto there has never been a book of brief compass and succinct arrangement for ready reference to tell the reader what he wished to know and all that he needed to know in order to identify and classify any piece of period furniture, whether original or a reproduction, that he might own or intend to buy. The Illustrated Chronological Key at the beginning of the book is of inestimable value in showing at a glance the dominant characteristics of each period style. For the idea and plan of this Key the authors are wholly indebted to Edward Stratton HoUoway, Esq., of the J. B. Lippincott Company, and they here desire to express their full acknowledgment and appreciation. In the preparation of the following pages the authors have made an extensive and independent examination and analysis of much furniture in many places and trust that they have thereby been enabled to correct some inadvertent errors and inaccuracies and supply som omissions of other books dealing with this subject; they have also made an exhaustive study of the available sources and authorities. They desire to express their obligations to the authors whose works are named in the bibliography, but especially their indebtedness to the illuminating publications of Mr. Macquoid, Mr. Cescinsky, Mr. Foley and Mr. Lockwood. To Mr. Lockwood they are also indebted for his kind permission to quote in extenso from his “Colonial Furniture in America” the ingenious and original analysis of the forms in which the cyma curve and its combinations appear.

In conclusion the authors hope that the carefully digested and systematic arrangement of facts which they have endeavoured to set forth in logical array may prove helpful to all furniture lovers and stimulate a study that must inevitably work for a general betterment in the adorning of our homes.

If there be sermons in stones, there are surely volumes of romances in old furniture. And they are the best kind of romances, too, because they are all true and not the laboured efforts of fictionaries, jaded with trying to find some new thing under the sun. We have but to open our eyes and unstop our ears to the language of furniture and a whole new world, richly filled with stirring memories, at once breaks upon us. But the value of an understanding of old furniture lies not merely in sentimental satisfaction and pleasing retrospect. It will give us a vigorous conunentary on the economic history and social manners of the times in which it was made, if we care to take the pains to read a little between the lines. A dog ring, perhaps, on a table leg, brings vividly before us a picture of domestic manners when the master of the house was wont to fasten his hound beside him as he sat in hall. Or, perchance, a well-worn table stretcher recalls the time when the floors were strewn with reeds and rushes and the men and women seated at the board were glad of a spot to rest their feet and keep them out of the “marsh," as it was significantly called, a place that readily became noisome with dampness, litter and scraps thrown to the dogs, for slatternly housekeeping was just as common in the "good old days" of Queen Bees and the Wisest Pool in Christendom as it has ever been since.

More pleasantly suggestive are the china cupboards of a later reign when housewives, with proper pride in their domestic surroundings, addressed themselves to collecting Delft and such bits of Oriental porcelain as rich East Indian argosies fetched to the ports of Holland, after the fashion set them by busy Queen Mary, the estimable spouse of the little Dutch Stadtholder. Anon a chased silver mirror frame or some gorgeous gew-gaw of tinsel court-trappings, reminiscent of the Merry Monarch's amorous irregularities, or again a capacious "Drunkard's Chair," dating from the age of "good Queen Anne," tell all too eloquently of the "frailty of the flesh" and the temptations to which it has yielded. In whole somer vein, the rich and multi-coloured upholstery stuffs from the looms of Spital-fields, fabrics which brightened the houses of the wealthy while Charles II was yet on the throne, and still more during the reign of William and Mary, speak to us of the industrious Huguenot weavers and England's lasting obligation to their cunning craftsmanship.

So it goes. Memories both, grave and gay flash in quick succession before the mind's eye, summoned to their place in the mental panorama by the curve of a chair leg or a faded tatter of ancient brocade. The glamour of antiquity makes a strong appeal to most persons of fine sensibilities. Those of a fanciful turn love to weave romances about old things and the people they were associated with. With us in America the desire to connect every old chest, table, bedstead or the like with some noted personage or some famous event has, at times, amounted to a mania. New England, through its length and breadth, has been filled to overflowing with “genuine" household gear brought over in the Mayflower. Indeed, Mayflower furniture has become a standing joke.

So, too, is it with the tables Washington has eaten from, the chairs he has sat on and the beds he has slept upon. If half the tales were true that we are asked to believe, the Father of his Country must have spent far more than his allotted span of life merely in performing the most astounding gastronomic feats or sleeping his wits away.

How much more sane and satisfactory it is to cast aside all this clap-trap sentiment and twaddling deception, accepting only such traditions as bear the most unmistakable hall-marks of authenticity, and measure our esteem for old furniture rather by its intrinsic merit! The historic point of view has its own very real and unquestionable value, the suggestive aspect establishes the connexion with social and economic conditions that affected the form and decoration of furniture and is, therefore, helpful to our general knowledge, but the truest and most satisfactory side from which to view the whole subject is its artistic and decorative value.

By regarding the making of furniture as an art, our reverence for it will be well founded and we shall be convinced of the worthiness and dignity of our study. We must quite put aside the mere stupidly utilitarian and narrow attitude that some assume in reference to furniture and consider the whole subject in a broader and more intelligent manner. Anything is to be held well worth while that will conduce to making the intimate surroundings of our daily life more livable and attractive. It is a laudable desire to have everything about us dignified and beautiful no matter how humble its use. The Greeks followed this principle, and the experience of many centuries has assuredly proved that they were fit patterns for emulation.

Furniture making is not only one of the oldest branches of man's handiwork but is one of the noblest aids to architecture and has been recognized as such by the greatest architects. To cite one instance in this connexion, the Brothers Adam set great store by it and owed much of the success of their interiors to the pains they bestowed on the smallest details of furnishing. Every day we see good houses spoiled by bad or ill-chosen furniture and then again we see, on the other hand, many a discouraging and mediocre house in large measure redeemed by good furniture, well chosen and wisely placed.

Sympathetic students of the various periods of furniture find much of their delight in the subtle grace of line and proportion in which the old craftsmen excelled. This excellence they had because they put their best efforts, their very hearts and souls, into their work and took a proper pride in its achievement before these present days of rush and hurry and factory-made things, turned out in batches by soulless corporations.

But excellent reproductions of the old pieces are, nevertheless, made to-day, retaining the charm of their prototypes, so that those who are unable to purchase antique specimens may still furnish their homes in the best manner and at a moderate cost. Discrimination is necessary, and very practical helps will be found in the chapter on “Advice to Buyers and Collectors”.

A fair working knowledge of the several period styles will tenfold increase our interest if we have begun to heed the call of the antique, and we may-depend upon it that a discriminating acquaintance is not only a source of satisfaction in itself but is really an essential part of a truly liberal education and helps mightily toward a broad, humanizing sense of appreciation which everyone should cultivate. To know fully the charm and merits of old furniture, to realize the opportunities and resources it affords us in the appointment of our houses, it is necessary that we understand at least enough about the characteristics of the sundry periods to distinguish easily one kind from another.

Some thirty years ago were sown the seeds of a taste for old furniture. The taste grew and spread rapidly. Everybody supposed to have good taste began to admire antiques, or at least pretended to. Very few, it is true, then knew much about the subject, but that made no difference. Old pieces of all descriptions and periods were rescued from the neglect that had hitherto been their portion, or dragged from the oblivion of dusty attics, where they had lain unheeded for years, and heaped with undiscriminating admiration, regardless of real deserving. Later, after the first stages of discovery and acquisition, came a general desire to know something more about these now treasured heirlooms and “finds” than merely that they were “very old pieces.”

The object of the following chapters is to give practical, concrete information in this respect and point out the goodness of the several styles, supplying such characteristic details as may enable the reader to identify and distinguish types with certainty as well as convenience. By the aid of the ensuing pages a broad acquaintance with the subject is quickly obtained.