Antique and Vintage Tables
Thomas Shearer and Sideboards
By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee — The early sideboard was more than a decorative piece of dining-room furniture. Functionally, it was the 18th-Century version of the modern serving pantry. In an era when course dinners were unheard of, this piece was literally a sideboard where the various fish dishes, roasts of beef, veal, mutton, pork, and poultry, which it was the custom to serve all at the same time, were carved and kept hot during the meal. In the homes of the wealthy, the sideboard was the post of the butler at...
Sideboard Tables in America
By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee — Although the variety of sideboards made by American craftsmen working in the Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and American Empire styles are well known to everyone, relatively little attention has been paid to the forerunner of this highly useful and decorative piece of domestic furniture. From about 1730 the sideboard table was made in America for approximately 50 years and followed the contemporary English fashion in form and decorative treatment. Structurally it was a frame without drawers and had...
Eames, Nelson, and the Mid-Century Modern Aesthetic
By Maribeth Keane — In this interview, Steve Cabella talks about collecting the work of designers Charles and Ray Eames, and about the mid century modern movement. As a teenager, I collected everything from vintage bicycles to Coca-Cola to Victorian stuff. Once I realized some of this stuff contained concepts of art and design, I started looking for vintage objects that also represented art or design movements that could hold my interest. I ran across Art Nouveau and then Art Deco and then Arts and...
The International Influences of Buffalo Furniture
By Maribeth Keane — About 11 years ago, my wife and I went on some architectural tours. We joined the organization that sponsored the tours, and I volunteered to be the Webmaster for them. I decided to take a few photographs to illustrate the tours, and realized it would also be good to describe some of the architecture, so I started an architectural dictionary. Then I decided it would be useful to have some Buffalo history, as background for the architecture, so I started working on that. Then I started...