Posted 7 years ago
smiata
(232 items)
Hello collector friends. It's been a while. I have a need of someones expertise on this antique secretary. I have been all over the internet looking for something that gives me a clue to who the maker could be and the date of it's maker. I have a guess that it may be East coast, maybe New York. It is supposed to have President Lincoln affiliation, but no documentation to back it up. It was a family heirloom. I would appreciate any help. Thank you in advance and happy collecting.
Beautiful! The devil is in the detail as they say... A close up on the drawer, handles, lock, and the hinges e.g. would be helpful.
Looks to be late 19th century. A photo of the drawer joint and desk interior would be helpful as would a blow up of the drawer knobs.
The Lincoln association (without provenance) is what I would call "seller hype".
scott
Very Handsome !!!!
It has the very rigid form of a 1795 Neo-classical secretary until the base table. The base table should never have rounded corners on the table and does not match the strict classical lines of the top secretary, so I think it may have been put on the base since it would not come out of a showroom like that with a table that does not match perfectly. It is probably early 20th century to around 1950, the entire unit, and many furniture makers made pieces like this so chances of finding other info is very low. The shelves would never be on a piece made in the late 1800's so Scott is mistaken. The table however may be somewhat older.
I meant to say the shelves would not be on a late 19th century piece. 1920-1950 for the top secretary.
Could certainly be a marriage.
"The shelves would never be on a piece made in the late 1800s..."
REALLY! So how exactly would this storage area be utilized without shelves in the late 1800s??
scott
Late 1800s is the same as late 19th century. Who is mistaken/ confused?
scott
As I said in post #6, it certainly could be a marriage. AND the top could be more modern. Additional photos would be helpful.
Shelves are not exclusive to the 1900s (20th century).
I guess that many of the late 1800s ( late 19th century) makers never got the memo to leave the shelves off as they are found in secretaries from this time period (just a few examples):
http://www.antiques.com/classified/Antique-Furniture/Antique-Desks---Secretaries/Antique-Solid-walnut-Eastlake-two-piece-fall-front-secretary-desk
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Eastlake-Walnut-Secretary-Desk-Late-1800s-/231476822979?nma=true&si=ONAyO3VxJv3Rp%252FpilWuAASL%252FzAk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1800s-Era-Plantation-Farmhouse-Secretaries-Governor-Winthrop-Executive-Desk/192046394777?hash=item2cb6db6d99%3Ag%3AJysAAOSwB09YRtSW
scott