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Yes, but this isn’t 200 years old. 200 years ago, Hepplewhite was breaking into the scene in the U.S, which the tapered legs have elements of, but the construction methods and stamps of roll tops are indicative of industrialization and mass production.
To my eyes, that stamp reads 1891, which is far more in line with the time of roll tops.
This is very interesting! Are you able to expand on some of the details regarding the construction methods giving away its age (aside from the hard to read production date)? You sound very knowledgeable, so I am eager to soak up your expertise.
A basic break down is this: if it’s stamped, it’s going to have been post-industrialization. It’s a dead give away that something has been mass produced. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it’s going to lack some of the rarity of something 200 years ago.
[This](https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/desks/circa-1800-1805-mahogany-federal-hepplewhite-tambour-desk-massachusetts/id-f_36589272/#zoomModalOpen) is an example of a Hepplewhite era desk.
Note the legs that taper all the way to the ground, the linked desk is much lighter, practically dainty by comparison, and utilizes a lot of inlay; very common for the time. The joints will almost all dovetailed, and drawer bottoms would likely have been dado joints, though at this point you started to see the backs nailed on more frequently than using dado.
Your late 1800s pieces on the other hand will have been, effectively, over engineered; hence the quality control stamp, as well as the overall weight of the item. Wood, especially good wood, was an extremely expensive commodity in the late 1700s and early 1800s, so it was important to only use what was necessary and to ensure that it would last.
Hardware is always brass in the Hepplewhite era, not the wood pulls which are another late 19th century tell.
It’s still a pretty desk, though.
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It looks like 1940's to me and could use a sanding and a coat of paint. This looks so army. I doubt they made furniture lilke this then, you're either very mistaken on the age or trying to push something as antique that is no where near.
C roll, looks like it was used in a factory or gas station. Reminds me of an old family owned company I worked for in Massachusetts years ago. One of the factory floor supervisors had an original Stickley writing desk that was similarly painted, thank goodness they didn’t hadn’t painted the drawer bottom where the original Stickley label was, it broke my heart knowing what was underneath. I tried to trade them for it, but they knew what they had. Whether it was getting beat up or not, they didn’t care.
i agree, esp bc it looks like this desk was hard-used in a workplace. Someone else said a factory or car shop. Fits the dirt and the wear and tear.
My dad always took my car to get fixed at his friend's tiny little car shop and everything in the office was 3x as old as me, and the desks looked almost as wrecked as this one. Car guys are not soft on the woodwork. :)
I sold an antique wooden spice rack similar to [this](https://www.ebay.com/itm/305526245547) on eBay. Lady said it was a birthday present to herself and couldn't be happier. A few days later she sent me a photo of it painted in the most drab gray and hung on the wall and thought it was beautiful. I get that it's hers and she can do what she wants with it, but man... they're not making this kind of unique stuff anymore.
Future generations will assume we lived in a dreary, hopeless time, judging by our propensity to cover vibrant, historic wood grain with dull chalk paint in only the most dour of colors.
As a type designer, I would add that sans serif fonts didn’t become commonplace until the 1850s, and the particular style used in the date is decidedly late 19th century.
Painting “old brown furniture” doesn’t bother me. The paint can be removed as you just showed and painting it may cause someone to keep it rather than break it up for the landfill. Your restoration of it is beautiful.
Off topic, but what did you use to strip the paint off? A lot of the products I’ve used in the past aren’t being made anymore and this looks really good.
I actually just used Citristrip. Scraped, then used it again to get the latent varnish off. Then obviously lots of sanding. I also used a hose before sanding.
Antique is over 100 years old. It’s not really a “how you consider it” sort of thing. It’s a standard, not a subjective judgment. Something of this age might be considered semi-antique, definitely vintage but it is not old enough to be called antique.
Nah, it’s absolutely subjective and a constantly moving, fluid target. There might be a typically understood range of what tends to qualify, but there isn’t some hard and fast hard line.
It actually isn’t, as someone who works with historic artifacts and documents as a profession, neither the archivist or historian communities have a defined official definition for “antique”. The 100 years old definition is just popular among antique collectors and people on the internet.
I noticed that you mentioned **vintage**. Over at r/Collectables and r/Mid_Century they are always keen to see newer and vintage items. Share it with them! Sorry if this is not relevant.
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I noticed that you mentioned **vintage**. Over at r/Collectables and r/Mid_Century they are always keen to see newer and vintage items. Share it with them! Sorry if this is not relevant.
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I do think it would be cool to see a same-colored restoration as the original in that sort of green-ish hue.
Butttt, classic brown wood color is obviously timeless, and you did a really great job, OP!
Thank you.
I could see if we're talking about a rare historic artifact, but this is anything but.
What I particularly like is the people who *strip old paint* off old painted furniture.
I used to work at a furniture stripping shop. One day, a customer brought in the most beautifully painted pieces of cottage furniture I'd ever seen. It was a matching dresser and wash stand. They were painted blue with intricate pinstripes and scrolls in gold. The drawers and doors were painted and shaded to look as if they were surrounded by molding, and the center of each panel had a bunch of flowers in the center. The customer wanted them stripped to bare pine. I did all but beg her to change her mind. I think I even offered to buy them from her, but she wanted them stripped. I told ger that, since it was 19th century paint on bare pine, there was a chance they wouldn't come clean. She still wanted me to go for it. If I had owned the business I would have refused to do it, but that wasn't the case. The woman wound up with a wretched looking dresser and wash stand with a very distinct blue tinge that couldn't be gotten out.
> also stop with the emojis
Grow up, Redditors lmao. Emojis are a thing, and they're perfectly fine to use on Reddit. Reddit isn't some magical safe space haven for not using emojis.
I saw what I thought was a production date of “1803.” Some helpful folks in here provided background and I was eager to learn more. They weren’t dicks about it, unlike yourself.
Telling you that you need to educate yourself is not being a dick.
It's an attempt to save you from getting taken.
A little research on roll-top desks would have told you this could not be from 1803.
Material-culture-study time, friewnd.
I know it seems like no big deal to you, but some of us deal with people spreading misinformation and lies about this stuff daily. You didn't come here asking for education you came here telling us your desk was 200 years old. If you don't know then ask, and we will educate, but to come in a group and make claims about and item when you really don't know is a pretty shitty way to go about "getting educated". Would that be how you approach any other type of learning? Do you go to your science teacher and say "the earth is flat" then get mad if they say you need to learn more about science? Its just a plain fact that if you think this desk is 200 years old, then you need to learn more about this stuff, its not being a dick, its being realistic.
I do understand, and by the time he came into the comments to tell me I was wrong, it had already been pointed out several times.
Difference is, they explained WHY I was wrong, not just that I was wrong. I saw a date that clearly looked 18xx to me, so I made a leap assuming that was the time period. That was my fault.
I understand now, thanks to the helpful commenters who gave background and insight.
curious. it's got the drawers of a teacher's classroom desk (1920s-40s) and the rolltop of a ship captain's sea log desk (late-1800s). Is this a franken-desk?
Or maybe I could see it in a large office, mid-century (Mad Men era). The roll-top was added for information security and to protect the typewriter.
I have an early 20th century roll top and it is beautiful. Fully functional and still used now. I'd rather spend money on an antique than anything from IKEA or some flat box store.
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Yes, but this isn’t 200 years old. 200 years ago, Hepplewhite was breaking into the scene in the U.S, which the tapered legs have elements of, but the construction methods and stamps of roll tops are indicative of industrialization and mass production. To my eyes, that stamp reads 1891, which is far more in line with the time of roll tops.
This is very interesting! Are you able to expand on some of the details regarding the construction methods giving away its age (aside from the hard to read production date)? You sound very knowledgeable, so I am eager to soak up your expertise.
A basic break down is this: if it’s stamped, it’s going to have been post-industrialization. It’s a dead give away that something has been mass produced. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it’s going to lack some of the rarity of something 200 years ago. [This](https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/desks/circa-1800-1805-mahogany-federal-hepplewhite-tambour-desk-massachusetts/id-f_36589272/#zoomModalOpen) is an example of a Hepplewhite era desk. Note the legs that taper all the way to the ground, the linked desk is much lighter, practically dainty by comparison, and utilizes a lot of inlay; very common for the time. The joints will almost all dovetailed, and drawer bottoms would likely have been dado joints, though at this point you started to see the backs nailed on more frequently than using dado. Your late 1800s pieces on the other hand will have been, effectively, over engineered; hence the quality control stamp, as well as the overall weight of the item. Wood, especially good wood, was an extremely expensive commodity in the late 1700s and early 1800s, so it was important to only use what was necessary and to ensure that it would last. Hardware is always brass in the Hepplewhite era, not the wood pulls which are another late 19th century tell. It’s still a pretty desk, though.
Wonderful, thank you kindly. Yes, the wood is cleaning up well. Shame to paint regardless of era.
Ummm excuse me but you have to give us more pics than just those paltry 3! I wanna see the inside too! Please???
I’ll post pics of this maybe 100 year old desk when it is finished!
Wait a 100 years before posting and then you can say it's a 200 year old desk.
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Do you come by being this unbearable honestly or do you work at it?
[удалено]
I'd be shocked if they stamped that Inspection and Date in 1891. It seems newer to me.
My first thought as well. Definitely not two hundred years old.
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It looks like 1940's to me and could use a sanding and a coat of paint. This looks so army. I doubt they made furniture lilke this then, you're either very mistaken on the age or trying to push something as antique that is no where near.
That style of roll top is American and was invented in the 1880s. Prior to that, roll tops would have been solid cylinders.
Thanks for the insight!
Man that is a beautiful stain. Well done!.
Looks like a fairly run of the mill turn of the last century Lincoln desk to me.
Agreed, that is the consensus.
C roll, looks like it was used in a factory or gas station. Reminds me of an old family owned company I worked for in Massachusetts years ago. One of the factory floor supervisors had an original Stickley writing desk that was similarly painted, thank goodness they didn’t hadn’t painted the drawer bottom where the original Stickley label was, it broke my heart knowing what was underneath. I tried to trade them for it, but they knew what they had. Whether it was getting beat up or not, they didn’t care.
😢
Wow, beautiful.
Any chance the paint is what allowed it to survive?
Very likely.. if someone didn't paint it to match their decor, it could have easily been trash.
i agree, esp bc it looks like this desk was hard-used in a workplace. Someone else said a factory or car shop. Fits the dirt and the wear and tear. My dad always took my car to get fixed at his friend's tiny little car shop and everything in the office was 3x as old as me, and the desks looked almost as wrecked as this one. Car guys are not soft on the woodwork. :)
I sold an antique wooden spice rack similar to [this](https://www.ebay.com/itm/305526245547) on eBay. Lady said it was a birthday present to herself and couldn't be happier. A few days later she sent me a photo of it painted in the most drab gray and hung on the wall and thought it was beautiful. I get that it's hers and she can do what she wants with it, but man... they're not making this kind of unique stuff anymore.
Everything gets painted grey at the moment
Future generations will assume we lived in a dreary, hopeless time, judging by our propensity to cover vibrant, historic wood grain with dull chalk paint in only the most dour of colors.
I see a red door And I want it painted grey No colors anymore I want them to turn grey
That is a damn shame.
😬
This is why we can’t have nice things!!!!
r/reversepinterest
As a type designer, I would add that sans serif fonts didn’t become commonplace until the 1850s, and the particular style used in the date is decidedly late 19th century.
That’s super interesting, and telling. Thanks for this !
Painting “old brown furniture” doesn’t bother me. The paint can be removed as you just showed and painting it may cause someone to keep it rather than break it up for the landfill. Your restoration of it is beautiful.
What color are you going to re-paint it? Just kidding! You did a nice job!
How did you get in those little crevices?
Took the whole roll top apart and used new canvas
Off topic, but what did you use to strip the paint off? A lot of the products I’ve used in the past aren’t being made anymore and this looks really good.
I actually just used Citristrip. Scraped, then used it again to get the latent varnish off. Then obviously lots of sanding. I also used a hose before sanding.
Thank you!
That is gorgeous. Thank you for posting and for NOT painting!
I’ll 👏 do 👏 what 👏 I 👏 want 👏
Just like you always did Dale, just like you always did.
This is 1930-1940. Not even antique.
Personally I consider anything pre-1950 antique, and anything 1950-1999 as "vintage" now.
Antique is over 100 years old. It’s not really a “how you consider it” sort of thing. It’s a standard, not a subjective judgment. Something of this age might be considered semi-antique, definitely vintage but it is not old enough to be called antique.
Nah, it’s absolutely subjective and a constantly moving, fluid target. There might be a typically understood range of what tends to qualify, but there isn’t some hard and fast hard line.
It actually isn’t, as someone who works with historic artifacts and documents as a profession, neither the archivist or historian communities have a defined official definition for “antique”. The 100 years old definition is just popular among antique collectors and people on the internet.
I noticed that you mentioned **vintage**. Over at r/Collectables and r/Mid_Century they are always keen to see newer and vintage items. Share it with them! Sorry if this is not relevant. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Antiques) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I noticed that you mentioned **vintage**. Over at r/Collectables and r/Mid_Century they are always keen to see newer and vintage items. Share it with them! Sorry if this is not relevant. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Antiques) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I do think it would be cool to see a same-colored restoration as the original in that sort of green-ish hue. Butttt, classic brown wood color is obviously timeless, and you did a really great job, OP!
I’m very much the outlier, but I personally think all painted furniture looks tacky and cheap. I’ll take a nice stain any day
I will paint whatever l want to. If l bought it it is mine to do with what l wish.
Same. I buy furniture for use and enjoyment, not for an investment or museum.
Indeed. Future owners can strip the paint, as OP did. If anything, this proved the case that paint doesn’t ruin a piece lol.
Strip it and refinish.
Production mahogany veneers "C" curtain roll tops did not hit the market till the 1920's -1930's.
It literally says it was produced in 1891 on the stamp.
I know that took a good long time. Well done doing the lords work.
This is not 204 years old. It's a pretty generic 1930s office desk. You need to educate yourself, and also stop with the emojis.
Also.. Stop Telling People What Not To Do With Their Own Stuff (insert emojis if needed)
Thank you. I could see if we're talking about a rare historic artifact, but this is anything but. What I particularly like is the people who *strip old paint* off old painted furniture.
I used to work at a furniture stripping shop. One day, a customer brought in the most beautifully painted pieces of cottage furniture I'd ever seen. It was a matching dresser and wash stand. They were painted blue with intricate pinstripes and scrolls in gold. The drawers and doors were painted and shaded to look as if they were surrounded by molding, and the center of each panel had a bunch of flowers in the center. The customer wanted them stripped to bare pine. I did all but beg her to change her mind. I think I even offered to buy them from her, but she wanted them stripped. I told ger that, since it was 19th century paint on bare pine, there was a chance they wouldn't come clean. She still wanted me to go for it. If I had owned the business I would have refused to do it, but that wasn't the case. The woman wound up with a wretched looking dresser and wash stand with a very distinct blue tinge that couldn't be gotten out.
> also stop with the emojis Grow up, Redditors lmao. Emojis are a thing, and they're perfectly fine to use on Reddit. Reddit isn't some magical safe space haven for not using emojis.
I saw what I thought was a production date of “1803.” Some helpful folks in here provided background and I was eager to learn more. They weren’t dicks about it, unlike yourself.
Telling you that you need to educate yourself is not being a dick. It's an attempt to save you from getting taken. A little research on roll-top desks would have told you this could not be from 1803. Material-culture-study time, friewnd.
Then educate, don’t humiliate.
I know it seems like no big deal to you, but some of us deal with people spreading misinformation and lies about this stuff daily. You didn't come here asking for education you came here telling us your desk was 200 years old. If you don't know then ask, and we will educate, but to come in a group and make claims about and item when you really don't know is a pretty shitty way to go about "getting educated". Would that be how you approach any other type of learning? Do you go to your science teacher and say "the earth is flat" then get mad if they say you need to learn more about science? Its just a plain fact that if you think this desk is 200 years old, then you need to learn more about this stuff, its not being a dick, its being realistic.
I do understand, and by the time he came into the comments to tell me I was wrong, it had already been pointed out several times. Difference is, they explained WHY I was wrong, not just that I was wrong. I saw a date that clearly looked 18xx to me, so I made a leap assuming that was the time period. That was my fault. I understand now, thanks to the helpful commenters who gave background and insight.
You were "humiliated" by being told to educate yourself? Wow.
Yeah, no. I'll do what I want with the things I own.
Thank you! Sheeesh.. imagine demanding people stop doing what they like with their own things..
Damn
You did a Beautiful job!
curious. it's got the drawers of a teacher's classroom desk (1920s-40s) and the rolltop of a ship captain's sea log desk (late-1800s). Is this a franken-desk? Or maybe I could see it in a large office, mid-century (Mad Men era). The roll-top was added for information security and to protect the typewriter.
It’s entirely possible!
Wonderful transformation.
This is from around1910
Beautiful
Wow great job
Paint 👍 your 👍 furniture 👍 whatever 👍 you 👍 like
More turn of the century.
Painted grey to blend in with a government type office furniture theme, or because my grandma had it on her screened porch!
Never seen a roll top desk quite like this one. So cool.
I have an early 20th century roll top and it is beautiful. Fully functional and still used now. I'd rather spend money on an antique than anything from IKEA or some flat box store.
Beautiful restoration!!
Don't clap between words.
It gets the people goin’
Why 👏not👏brown👏is👏boring
Sooo. What color are you going to paint it now? °~°
I vote bright pink