A few upholstered pieces

[esposk45]

Hello,
Can anyone help me to more accurately describe these pieces? Two will be for sale to anyone who wants to reupholster them. One was purchased at an auction and we are presently upholstering.

I'm starting an email newsletter to market our "free to good home" pieces---donated items of good quality, available for reupholstery. We actually do sell these from time to time. People want to keep them from the dump but obviously not everyone can afford to fix them up.

Kathy
Home & Office Upholstery
http://www.homeandofficeupholstery.com/index.html

[Oceans64]

Not sure about the couch but the love seat is the same style as Lincoln Rockers so named as it was (reportably) a favorite style of Pres Lincoln. For sure it was the style of rocker in which he was assassinated.  The style remained popular to the early 1870's however they are still being made today.  Would need more detailed pics including close-ups of the feet, any hardware present and underside of the piece to determine approx age.  If it were an older piece, I think it probably would have been caned originally vrs upholstered but that's just a guess...  Still I would poke/feel around looking for signs of prior caning

[talesofthesevenseas]

I agree with Oceans, the loveseat or "settee" looks interesting. The couch at the top looks very modern and not worth restoring. That one I hate to say it, but I would haul it straight to the local landfill. The settee on the other hand has potential, although Victorian parlor furniture can be a hard sell. It is more formal than most people want in their living rooms in this day and age. Personally, I love this kind of furniture, but my husband is a La-Z-Boy kinda guy. Looking forward to seeing some pics of the underside and any hardware!

[talesofthesevenseas]

I should add that the arm style is called both "Lincoln" and "Grecian". This came about because President Lincoln had a Grecian style rocker and so they started to be called Lincoln rockers. If you google Grecian settee some interesting variations on this style come up, although I did not see anything identical to yours, you can spot the arms on one piece, the backs on another etc.

[esposk45]

Yeah, maybe "modern" is relative. The couch belonged to the donor's great-great-grandma and its value lies chiefly in being solid as a rock. (We also repair furniture here, made in the last 15 years that are made of particleboard and pine. Ick.)

I shot some pix of the settee. The underside is falling out as it was built of a plywood board. We would re-web and add coiled springs, I suspect.

[Oceans64]

I should add that the arm style is called both "Lincoln" and "Grecian".

Thanks T - I knew there was another name for it (other than Lincoln). Just couldn't remember!

[talesofthesevenseas]

It all looks really good so far, especially the peg construction. I would love to see it reupholstered too, after you're done with it. I would leave the wood alone, don't attempt to restore that, as you would be moving the patina and its historical value. It is beautiful in its present unrestored state, just needs nice upholstery. I would go for white, so that it can match any decor since you are restoring this to sell, right?

Can you show a construction photo of the underside of the seat? We need an "ugly photo" to see how it is put together under there, repairs, stuffing, nails hardware etc.

[esposk45]

Some prior owner had nailed a piece of plywood to the bottom, instead of installing webbing and springs. It was falling out so we knocked it out completely.

One of the pegs is missing and shows a shiny screw holding it together. Probably was repaired at some point?
BTW, thanks for all your thoughts. We'll advertise this (after removing the back upholstery) and maybe someone will want it. If a year goes by, maybe I'll redo it on spec.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Are there matching screws on the other legs or just on that one?

[esposk45]

Not sure as the pegs are still on top. Should we remove one of them to see?