console table

[KC]

Understand Mart....was just thinking out loud about the QA.  In my neck of the woods would sell $100 - $200 if veneer is missing. 

I am also thinking mahogany.   Still looks in pretty good shape...and a classic.

[newnut]

Well having the benefit of having it here with me, Im leaning towards walnut now you have mentioned it. I say this because of the straight grain and it is actually quite light, (i may be wrong, isn't walnut lighter than mahogany?) I didn't have time yesterday to do much, so will do more today.  What would be your route with restoring a piece like this? the lock is damaged and a corner is damaged. Should I fork out for a professional restore, or sell as is? I guess an appraisal will answer that for me.

[jacon4]

I would sell as is if i didnt want to keep it in my collection. Just be aware that selling old furniture in the UK is much different than here in America. Totally different market.

[jacon4]

Just did a quick Google seach with the term  "antique french victorian console table" and this was fairly close to what you have. Note the auction was 2007, before economic crash and before the depression in antique brown furniture that continues to this day. It didnt sell.

http://www.icollector.com/ANTIQUE-FRENCH-VICTORIAN-CONSOLE-PARLOR-TABLE-1637289_i7109439

[mart]

I also would sell it as-is,, repairs may cost more than you will make as profit !!  Another thing to think about,, much of the furniture from the later time period is simply looked at as "used furniture" in the UK !!  Quite different from here in the U.S !! But with careful marketing and a good description, I think you can still make a bit on your table !!
No,, walnut is about the same intensity as mahogany but different grain and tone !!  The case wood may be walnut but the secondary wood looks like mahogany !!

[dr612]

Jacon4 - I am interested in your description of the market as a "depression in antique brown furniture."  I'm not a dealer, and don't often buy or sell pieces, but I had heard that the market was "soft".  Is the true state of the antique furniture market that bad?  Is it across regions and periods both?  What do you think the future holds?  I know that at local antique auctions, many of the buyers are dealers, but there are few young people in attendance.  Same with model train shows.  Am very interested in your thoughts.   

[jacon4]

Hey dr612
Well, let me put it this way, American antique furniture has never been more affordable than it is to today, dating back 20-30 years or so. There are several reasons for this, demographics for one, the baby boomers are not only a huge population group, they are also the richest in history. You just dont have the numbers today in terms of young collectors and the few that are there dont have the same disposable income. There was a MAJOR BUZZ factor 20 years ago as well, antiques roadshow comes immediately to mind, thats missing today as dealers & auction houses struggle for sales. Additionally, the fact that boomers are retiring at the rate of 10,000 a day and down sizing, theres a flood of material hitting the market as they sell off their collections and move to smaller quarters. Add all of this up and there has never been a better time to collect american antique furniture which is known in the trade as "brown furniture".
And yes, i would say its across the board in terms of style or period, doesnt matter. There are some REALLY GOOD buys today for high quality period pieces. The market was down quite a bit before the 2008 economic crash but since then that market has been really tough.

[mart]

Another thing you can count on is that prices in most antique and later furniture as well as many collectables are cyclical !! If you keep it long enough,, it will come back into popularity !! Except maybe Beanie Babies,, I don`t hold much hope for them !!

[jacon4]

LOL, yeah, thats what alot of people say, its just a cycle, it'll come back. The furniture cycle has been down for many years now and with the volume of material going to market these days, i think it will be many more before furniture comes back to the prices it once commanded, if ever. I would note the world record price for a single piece of american furniture is 12 million and was set in 1989, 23 years ago..............

[dr612]

As a baby boomer myself, that is a very good point.  I am still more inclined to pick up pieces than let them go, but I can see in the not too distant future a time where I will have to decide what to do with the "treasures" that I have cared for during my lifetime.  My two adult sons are not particularly interested in antique furniture, and my concern is that it is as much a generational issue as a personal one.  I hope, Mart, that it is something that will cycle back into favor.  Antiques are art and history rolled together into countless unique and varied forms.  Our lives would be much impoverished without their charm and beauty.  

[jacon4]

Its pretty much a supply & demand game, as are most things. Antique furniture hit a "perfect storm" during the '80s but since then has struggled to maintain that boom. I know alot of auction houses that tell me that they really get it stuck in their ear when they explain the reality of antique furniture prices of today to clients that are down sizing and want to sell, often for less than they paid decades ago. Makes for tough marketing all round!

[jacon4]

I would add that the top of the market does OK as does the bottom of the market, its the middle market that has issues. Naturally, 90% of the market is in the middle market.

[mart]

Ha !!  Maybe they should look at it same as the stock market,, both live and otherwise,, buy high, sell low !!  Thats middle America for ya` !!!

[jacon4]

Well, I personally dont have alot of sympathy for this situation. First off, they got to live with and enjoy these objects for many years & two, its not like period furniture is worthless, far from it, it's just not worth as much as it was during the boom years.