Hi..........How old does it have to be? A simple question that can be discussed tell the cows come home. Volumes have been written and are still being written to try and answer that question.
Antique furniture is defined as movable contents of a household made prior to the year 1830. But some believe and probably rightly so, that the modern machine age of about 1830, was incapable of producing articles that were the product of a true handcraftsman.
What is even more difficult in furniture is determining the originality of the piece. Whether it is all original or reproduction. Provenance of the piece is very helpful to determine originality, along with general appearance, design, hardware, types of wood and patination.
Early records of glass making come from Mesopotamia in the 17th century BC. Egypt and the Middle East were making glass around 2500 BC.......You can see why we could discuss the subjects at great length.
To understand glass, it is important to know the methods of manufacturing. Basic materials used to make glass, such as sand and alkalis that are mixed together. Blowing glass was one the earliest ways to shape glass. During the 1820's blown 3 mold glass was made. Pieces made with 2, 3, or 4 seams would still have been called 3-mold glass. Thousands of patterns, names and companies have made pressed glass and it is safe to say that just about all of it has been reproduced. It can be said that even a period piece of glass from 1880 was most likely produced from an earlier example.
Pressed glass was made by placing the glass in a mold and pressing it with weight. Other forms were engraved glass that was cut with a copper wheel or diamond point. Etching, used in the late 1800's is an acid process used to frost an area. Cut glass was made by cutting away sections of the glass with cutting wheels. Most of the brilliant cut glass we see today was made in the 1880's.
Types of glass include iridescent made from about 1894-1935. The most famous maker of iridescent glass was Louis Comfort Tiffany. Others include Victor Durand and Frederick Carder. Imperial Glass Company, Ohio; Fenton Glass of West Virginia; Loetz factories of Austria are other iridescent glass companies.
Other types of collectable antique glass are Satin glass, Burmese, Peachblow, Amberina, Cameo glass, Wavecrest, Finlay Onyx, Mercury glass, Cranberry, Milk Glass and Carnival glass which is a less expensive pressed glass from 1900-1920. New Carnival is still being made.
Paper............Pa pyri reeds grew readily in the mash areas of the Nile Delta. They have now disappeared but are still found in the upper Nile and in the valley of the Euphrates. Papyrus was made from these reeds. The word paper comes from the name "papyrus". When the Saracens invaded Egypt the supply of papyrus was cut off. So the penmen in Pergamus, Asia Minor set out to make their own and came up with parchment which was named from it's birthplace, Pergamus.
Printing of "books" as we know them came about in China about the 2nd century with the invention of paper. Newspapers were published in America from about 1690. Collectible paper like any antique should be preserved. Ephemera, or collected paper products that were destined to be thrown out should be kept flat and under glass. Don't use scotch tape to repair paper. And most important, keep paper items you want to preserve out of sunlight.
An antique, whether it's furniture, glass or paper is defined as being made prior to the year 1830. Some experts prefer to say that a piece has to be "over 100 years old" rather than "made prior to 1830". This is so the collector can collect what was made during the Victorian era and consider them "antique" and eventually enables collectors to collect an "antique" that was made in their own time.
So whether you say "prior to 1830" or "100 years old" knowing true antiques can be a lifetime consuming hobby or career. The are lots of tips and much can be learned by reading and studying artifacts. It's almost like a sixth sense. The more you read, the more you learn. And it doesn't make any difference how much you read. You'll learn something new every day................ .........Good luck on your paper.............
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best............... ........Tim
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
