Hi everyone, my name is Tales and I'm a *sob!* ...a rockaholic!
Yes it's true, I bought another antique rocking chair. It was the last thing I needed, but it was love at first sight and for $30 I couldn't say no to this one. Who could resist that wonderful face? It has issues and plenty of them, so I would love to get some input and advice on the best ways to address them.
My first question is this- Is that the North Wind or Green Man carved into the headrest? I lean toward green man because those look like oak leaves at the bottom, but I think the North Wind is more common on furniture? Please advise on this, see the photos below.
So here's what I know about it. It belonged to the seller's great-grandmother. I would estimate that he was in his thirties. He said it dated to at least 1900, probably earlier. I'm going to guess 1880s or 1890s, but please provide some input here as all of you have much more expertise than I do on this. He said that he knew nothing else about its history, other than that it had come from Sacramento.
Although it has not been refinished, it has been treated badly. Very badly. To illustrate this, allow me to share a few choice quotes from my conversation with the seller. Brace yourselves:
Me: "What a lovely old thing it is!"
Seller: "Really?"
Me: "Oh yes, it's great!"
Seller: "Are you going to refinish it?"
Me: "No, we like antiques just the way they are."
Seller: "Really?"
Me: "Yes."
Seller: "Well, the stain washes off with water"
Me: *shocked into silence*
On looking closely at the surface, it looks like the patina has been removed with soap and water. Although the original finish is there, it lacks the soft, sticky grunge patina that should be on top of it. I thought everyone on the planet had caught at least one episode of Antiques Roadshow by now, but apparently not.
Overall, the rocker is very solid, which makes it even more of a shame that it has the condition issues that it does. The backboard flexes and moves nicely in it's mountings when you rock in it, creaking and groaning loudly. (I love antiques that talk to you!) This is one of those chairs where you sit down it embraces you, and you can feel the wear from the years in it.
So here is what is wrong structurally. There are two old repairs that were done well and are stable: One rocker and the seat were cracked clear through and both were repaired long ago. The unaddressed issues are that the backboard has cracked in several places and I believe (please give opinions on the best way to address this) that I will likely need to inject wood glue into the cracks to stabilize them and prevent further damage. The end of one rocker was gnawed on by the seller's puppy. Not much I can do about that, other than to blend it in over time with some USP mineral oil.
Usually I feel that antiques should stay in the family they came from. In this case, I'm glad to rescue this one from the seller and his puppy from hell. I realize that this is one of those cases where there isn't much monetary value, but it's got age, charm and personality and I'd like to do a good job of stabilizing the cracks. The wood is dry and so it will get USP mineral oil to help with that. Thanks all for your help!
