Conant Ball Table... Any Thoughts??

[dbendell0711]

Hey everyone. I am trying to find the value of this small table that I recently acquired. Here is what I have discovered so far:

Conant Ball Furniture Company was founded in the late 1800's and closed in 1980. Although Russell Wright designed furniture for the company from 1935-1939, his furniture bore a different brand or emblem on the underside than the Standard Conant Ball Branding. For whatever, Ive read that though his pieces are very rare, they are not as valuable as those branded Conant Ball Furniture Co.

It seems like any furniture by this company sells for a great deal of money on ebay, yet I have been unable to find any piece that looks similar to this one at all. It is in excellent condition... it only needs to be cleaned up. It was very wobbly (as you can tell the past owner got messy with wood glue underneath) however I took it apart and reassembled it, only by tightening the screws, and its now solid as ever. Still, if I cleaned it up and removed that old messy glue, would anyone have an Idea of the value? Or at least the period it could be from? I am lost..

Anyone?

[bigwull]

Nice table,..different approach to what is in effect a pedestal table....id say 1960,s...

[dbendell0711]

Thanks. Yeah its a very unique design. I have a hard time finding anything remotely similar online anywhere. Why would that be? It seems almost like it was one designers "experiment" or something..interest ing...

[bigwull]

I don,t think you,re far away with your line of thought....but i was thinking more along the lines that this has been a DIY job where someone has married two different pieces together...thr reason being..from all the Conant tables i,ve looked at...and there are hundreds...this is a miss mash...did you fit the cross headed screws.......or were they there when you got it....

[dbendell0711]

I didn't do anything to it, other than pull off the top to tighten the loose base, and put it back together. I have to say though, it doesn't seem like anyone has messed with it since it was first manufactured. If they did, they did it well because there isn't much evidence that it has been tampered with (other than someone sloppily squirting clue around the joint). Not to mention.. it seems to have only been stained once. I mean when I took it apart, you could see the outline of its first finish. It is very confusing..

[gg27]

I'm wondering why it would have an oak base & a pine top?  Seems like a marriage to me.  It is interesting though.  That style of base says mid century to me. GG

[mart]

My opinion is that the base at least was produced 1970 to end of the production by the company,,in 1980 !! More pop art culture than mid century as we think of it !! I agree that its likely the top is not original to the base !!  If it was made late there is a possibility that the production was small which might be why you can`t find another like it !! I checked a few different auction sites and found actual sales running between $100. and $700.  Are the prices you saw actual selling prices or asking prices ??

[dbendell0711]

Thanks for all the feedback you guys. I so appreciate it! I believe I was looking at asking prices on ebay... I know prob. not the best way to gauge its value. The only thing I'm curious about is that neither the top or base seem to match anything of the Conant Ball line, yet it bears the mark. Maybe you're right Mart... Limited  production. I am a total amateur when it comes to antiques. I buy, refinish and resell furniture, lately having success doing pieces in a painted/distressed fashion for a "Shabby Chic" look, which is a popular style up here in the Midwest. This table, however, seems so strange. I am just lost as to weather this piece has any value "as is" or should I refinish it somehow? I would like to sell it regardless... my house is full of too much furniture lol.

[mart]

Skip this one for the Shabby Chic look !! If it is original it would be easier to sell as is and on the off chance that there are fewer of these tables floating around,,could sell for more money !!   Just clean it up and list it all shined up,,see what interest it gets !!  Unique usually does very well !!  That 4102 product line did not look anything like this !!  Let us know how it sells !!

[dbendell0711]

Thanks Mart... sorry, one last question.. where would one even begin to price it? Would it be worth getting an appraisal or doing further research first to gauge a starting price? I sell most of my items locally through Craigslist for now, until I can get a storefront...

[Rauville]

You might get some information (other than pricing) here:
http://www.mwcc.edu/gardnerfurniture/GardnerMuseum.htm

[dbendell0711]

Wow, Rauville. What an awesome resource. Thank you so much! I cannot believe how helpful and courteous you all are on this forum. I feel bad receiving all of this information and not being able to give anything back. I will post my findings and hopefully everyone will gain something (knowledge) from this quest.  In the meantime, any other thoughts on value or origin are welcome!!!

[fancypants]

I don't know about this little oddfellow (don't know alot about recently manufactured furniture) , but it does seem to have an inherent design flaw ... all that weight atop such a small dowel/fulcrum , IMO .

Perhaps it is a 'married' piece .

I can't really tell if the top of your table is solid wood , or veneered , 0711 !

If it was in my mitts , I'd remove the base unit & see if there's any marks & such under the screwed-on board (with the wood-burnt company logo) area of the table-top .... if so , YAY ... if none exist ... not so 'yay' .


The base reminds me of the types that were 'crafted' for combo 120 vac lamp/table nomanclatures , which were on the new furniture markets in the 60's , 70's & 80's (and copied in 'woodshop' classes in high schools) .

Bottom line , I just don't know !

[dbendell0711]

Just quickly like to say... i don't know if the pictures make it look less so, but the base and top seem very proportionate, especially the width of the wood and finishing style, the top is as intricately crafted as the bottom. why marry these two components, it doesn't make sense... it all looks cohesive as a whole, yet unique. Ughhh.

[bigwull]

it may look proportionate...but ...mixing hardwoods with softwoods ...in a table, is just asking for trouble,..hence the reason why someone tried to stick it back together...albeit .badly....now i do know that, carpenters the world over have used various types of wood when contructing furniture, its done for economy, and wear tolerances,..but the end result of say a mahogany chest of drawers will show mahogany, that can have pine sides to the drawers or back but never where its seen ..the same goes for this table..why mix the woods, that will be seen....it does,nt make sense,..unless its a top from something else....