Posted 10 years ago
creakyknees
(2 items)
Sorry for the side-way pics. - not sure why they uploaded that way - this is my first post.
The rocker came from Maine, mid sea coast area. Years ago a friend asked me to "keep it safe" for him as it had belonged to his mother. I know his family lived on a light house for many years.
It's has been in my care over thirty years. If anyone has any information about the style or origin I would love to know. There are no markings on the bottom of the seat. The only thing I have found is a rocker like it listed on Craig's List titled "wicked old rocker".
Yours is a beautifully shaped rocker and is known as a "Boston Rocker". Its design is an adaptation of the Windsor chair was originally created in New England in the 1840s and is distinctive for its seat which slopes up in the back and curves down in the front, as well as its back made of spindles which end at the top with a crest rail. Its design is considered one of the most popular in rockers. Often these were painted. Some have arms. I own two like yours that are without arms and mine are both painted (one black, one brown, both with stenciling on the crest rail). One was my great grandmother's (she was born in 1889); the other I bought at a local auction (I am in New England). I would love to be able to suggest an age to go along with my explanation, but without being able to see it, and the topic being relatively new to me, I would not be able to. It is a possibility yours is old, though. Look for signs that your chair might have been refinished too, although as I understand it, not all Boston rockers were painted. Anyway, I hope this gives you some information to further your research!
I will elaborate a bit more on this chair. I believe it was an antique until someone refinished it. To be an antique it needs to be in unaltered condition and 100 or more years old. After the war of 1812 Maine became a major hub for wooden tables and chairs. Unfortunately most were never marked. The old factories were either closed up or bought out by bigger companies and merged. Ethan Allen had a factory in Andover, Maine that consisted of different places they bought out. I used to buy walnut cut off's from a guy that worked there. They might be able to give you some information if you send them pictures and ask. They still have five or six manufacturing plants.
Good to know about the history of the furniture hub in Maine!
To Creakyknees, please note that an antique is a piece of furniture, art, etc. of value that is over 100 years old, whether or not it was altered. Accidents, wear, etc. happen over time to furniture and, particularly with furniture more than a century old, it is common that previous owners would have a cherished piece repaired, refinished (even 100 years ago), and sometimes even combined with another into a new form. That being said, the original condition is always the most desirable and refinishing a piece will hurt its value to a collector, even if the original finish was in poor condition. In other words, yours, if that old, is an antique even if it was refinished. I suspect it is an antique, and like fhrjr2, think it was possibly refinished; however, as you have it in your possession (hopefully still) you have the best potential of determining this. Look for signs of wear in areas where the chair would be more affected such as the seat, bottoms of the skates or rockers (where the finish over time would rub off), etc. Newer finishes often appear shinier and not "soft" (or mellow) as on antique furniture (this is really hard to describe), but this is not an absolute way of determining whether it was refinished or not. Of course, over the centuries various types of material have also been used for finishes and still are today, which also provide for different appearances. Another thought on determining if it was refinished or not is to look for wear to the wood (dings, etc.) and see if the finish is inside the ding or not. I hope this helps in your search.
Either way, I think it is a great keeper!
I am not sure where you are or your background but I assure you the "unaltered condition" makes a major difference if you are importing an item. It makes a major difference on the tax, import or export. It is also reflected in prices at high end antique dealers. I dealt with it for several years working for U.S. Customs. Sloppy shops call anything that looks old an antique.
I think it is important to separate AGE and Condition.
Most collectors and antique dealers would agree that furniture must be 100+ years old to qualify as antique.
It is common to find more modern repairs and refinishes on antique furniture and unless it has materially changed the item, it would still be considered antique (with noted condition issues).
I am not familiar with importing furniture as I deal exclusively with American Furniture in the US.
scott
My apologies in advance for my long-winded response.
fhrjr2 brings up a very interesting topic regarding the "definition" of "antique".
The actual definition for "antique" did not originally, and still does not, include the 100 year old requirement, which may be a surprise to some. Merriam Webster defines it as, "Existing since or belonging to earlier times; 2.a. being in the style or fashion of former times; 2.b. made in or representative of the work of an earlier period; 3. selling or exhibiting antiques."
An interesting explanation for how the 100 year old addition to the trade definition, and U.S. Customs definition, came about can be found on PBS's website under Antiques Roadshow's glossary and describes how our use of the word "antique" is ever evolving. I will try and summarize a bit of it here, with added specifics found elsewhere on the Internet. Essentially, anything labeled "antique" was allowed to be imported into the United States duty-free. Of course, that opened the doors for unscrupulous importers to cheat the system and label anything being imported as "antique", besides describing an object as "antique" being subjective, so in 1930 when the Smoot Hawley Tariff Act was passed, it included a new U.S. Customs definition of "antique" that required any object being imported as an antique to have been produced prior to 1830 (after which many objects were mass produced and machine made). In 1966, this was changed to say an import was considered antique if it was produced at least 100 years prior, rather than only before 1830. In 1993, this heading 9706 was changed to include antiques that have been repaired or restored, including those that incorporate parts of modern manufacture, as long as the essential character has not changed or more than 50% of the object has been repaired or restored. (summarized from the CBP website, their Informed Compliance Publication, May 2006, pg 14).
If one only considers an object to be "antique" if it is 100% original, not repaired or restored in any way, one would be hard pressed to find very many. For example, consider all the valuable artwork that has been repaired and/or restored by museums. Furniture, ceramics, cars, buildings, artwork may have repairs to them but can still be of considerable value and be antiques, particularly when they have considerable age and/or are rare. Most antique furniture has been altered or repaired/restored in some way, particularly the 200-300 year old pieces, or older, as if they are still around today, they have more than likely encountered one or two accidents. Others may have been altered to fit the needs of the owners, or make it more fashionable. If it is unaltered, as I stated in my previous comment, it is of more value, and, if it is quite old and rare, usually considerable more value! One only has to watch one or two episodes of Antiques Roadshow to get the gist of this.
I am an antiques dealer in New Hampshire and only refer to 100 year old + items as antique.
By the way, I agree with everything scottvez said.
Hello all!
I appreciate your input on the chair and the interesting conversation on the state of "antique". I will take a closer look as suggested - stay tuned.
Great explanation indelible.
I wasn't aware of the full history-- very enlightening!
scott