Cabinet...

[hosman321]

That's insanity tales, he will never get that price and you know he didn't pay close to that. Sooner or later, he'll realize that nobody is buying them and he'll have to come down on the price. What makes him think he can raise the price if he can't even sell them at the current price? How long have they been listed? I'm sorry tales, that'd be so awesome to own.

[KC]

No use lowering yourself to his level. 

I sure haven't heard the document market rising....except for exceptionally historical/famous immediate families/people!  No disrespect Madame President Talesof! 

One day he will find that lowering them will get him money whereas what he has now is paperwork and no money!

[jacon4]

I remember that discussion on rare victorian that sappire's link refers too on late classical/pillar & scroll and most often refered to (incorrectly) as late empire. It was written by Hollie of hollie & andrew who write a monthly column in MAD (maine antiques digest) titled "the young antique collectors". They also have a blog by the same title
http://youngantiquescollectors.blogspot.com/

[hosman321]

In your opinion Jacon, when do you think this cabinet was made? I know the pictures aren't great so it's a bit hard to tell. Do you think it's pre-civil war? Seems like you know your furniture, so I'd appreciate your opinon. When I get it, I can look more closely at the hardware and look for any markings.

Tales, did you tell him that they were your family members? I think that even makes him more heartless if you did. Even a greedy man will offer to lower them a little bit, just to get them sold. But he'd have to lower them a lot. Just curious if he cared at all...

[sapphire]

Another informative page with links to examples......

http://www.buffaloah.com/f/fstyles/lateclass/lateclass.html

[jacon4]

Hosman, well, i know alot about a little (early american 1620-1820) where most furniture folks know a little about alot but i would say your cabinet was built in the second half of the 19th century, 1850-1890. It's difficult to offer alot of info on pic's alone but its pretty clear its late classical/pillar&scroll aka late empire. This style was popular for a long time so there is alot of it around, also, it's not "in" at the moment so it offers good value for those that like this style.

[talesofthesevenseas]

My point exactly KC, these ancestors are not famous or historically significant and there isn't even anything of genealogical significance in the letters. I even checked last time to make sure he hadn't mistaken the John Quincy Adams in the letters for the presidential one and he said he hadn't. He says he thinks a historical society will want to buy them for "posterity". I just wished him good luck with that and said to get in touch if he decided at some point that he could accept $200. Now I'll quit hyjacking Hosman's thread!  

[jacon4]

here is the link sapphire posted that gives a pretty good account on the origins of this style written by Hollie
http://rarevictorian.com/2009/06/empire-furniture-isnt-always-empire-furniture.html

[hosman321]

If that's true Jacon, I have no desire to have it. If it could be post-civil war then it's not what I'm looking for. I know that sounds crazy but I'm not looking for later pieces, I'm trying to get rid of the later items that I have to make room for older pieces that I really want to collect. I bought it because I thought it was worth that price to me. It may truly be worth that much to someone else but I wouldn't have paid that much unless it was 1820's. The big problem I'm having is that so many different sites have so many different dates for periods, none of them can seem to agree. This one says up to 1830.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_style

[hosman321]

That's an informative link. But even it says up to the 1840's. You mentioned up to 1890's, did they make them in this style that late?

[jacon4]

LOL, oh dear, so sorry it's not what you wanted. One of the good things about the WEB is theres alot of information available and, one of the bad things is, some of that information is not correct. Empire or Classical (1800-1830) is basically the same form as late classical, the main difference is the earlier period has lots of carving where the latter has little or none. Take a look at this link for some Empire, i would note that this style can get pricey in a hurry particularly if built by a noted maker like Anthony G. Quervelle
http://www.philaantiques.com/exhibit/2007loan.pdf

[jacon4]

You mentioned up to 1890's, did they make them in this style that late?

Yep, sure did, even later.

[talesofthesevenseas]

If you follow Jacon's link, there's a second link within it that classifies furniture like yours as "Late Classic" or "Late Classicism" and takes you to this page which gives a date of 1835-1850. Still well before the Civil War.
http://victorianforum.com/antique-furniture-attributions/1855-empire-sofa-please-help-with-details!!!/msg1601/?PHPSESSID=76303d10e51bcb3d7a67a41741905bce

It then gives an additional link to this article, which also places the range as being early to mid-1850's. I think you're preferred range with this one Hosman.
http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/late-classicism-antiques-not-empire

[jacon4]

 classical/empire is 1800-1830 (lots of carving & hand made), late classical 1840-1890 is the same form, just no carving & machine made

[KC]

Once you get the piece in hand and can take better pictures we will be able to offer more information.

The style was used well into the late 1800's so it can be a late piece.  Still...let's wait and see your treasure!