Slant front desk secretary / Is this right? Ideas on age?

[jabiloxi]

I have this Secretary that I recently acquired and am really curious about what this is, and how old it is, and also how much it would be worth if I want to sell it.

Anyways, check out the pics and let me know if anyone has any ideas about this piece.
Thanks,
Joe

[mart]

Has it been stripped and refinished or antiqued ?  Cant see any distinct graining in the wood !!

[hosman321]

Can you pull out the drawer and post a picture of the side of it? Also, close up pics of any hardware, nails or other metal parts? It looks quite old, but hard to tell...
I love it, it would match great with my old wash stand.

[Oceans64]

This is really no help but thought I'd mention..... I just read that the Trefoil (the top piece) was an element used in Gothic Revival architecture.  Your piece does not look like Gothic style but I'm no expert.  Just thought I'd mention.  I read this on a site Tales posted in a diff topic:  http://www.ourvictorianhouse.com/Gothic%20Revival.ht

[talesofthesevenseas]

I was thinking that it looked refinished also. I don't see any wear or patina.

[mart]

Either refinished badly or with the lines going completely across the front, like a stain, I was thinking antiqued !!  Doesn`t look like a natural wood unless it is ash which has little or no graining.

[KC]

I was thinking this looked more like a refinished "home made" item from the looks of the pieces posted so far.

Could you please post a pic of the sides of the pulled out drawers and a pic of the back?

[jabiloxi]

heres some more pics.  I don't think it has been refinished nut I am no expert on that, it looks original though.

Thanks for all the advice, what would something like this be worth?

[cogar]

Nice looking piece. Single board Construction. Looks like Black walnut. My guess mid to late 1800's.

[Oceans64]

Hey Jab!  I think the pic most are looking for are the drawers. Specifically the outside corners to see if they are dovetailed and if so, what those dovetails look like.  Many times that can give a good place to start with age. While you've got the drawer out tho, pics of the inside and underneath can help as well.  It also helps to see what kind of repair work may or may not have been done in the past.

[mart]

Keep in mind that this is only one persons opinion,,,mine !! I think it has been refinished fairly recently. I see no consistant wear patterns anywhere. No aging around the key hole, drop front edge or anywhere hands would have touched.  The wood is a toss up !! The banding on the drop front has an oak appearance but the main portion looks different, And the drawer front, at least from the pics, almost looks like pine. Bottom looks different from those. I know this could be from the pic quality as they are not too good for determining what exactly it is made from !! My opinion is that it dates around 1900 to 1920. Its possible that it could have been a piece with painted on grain and was never intended to be refinished, at least not by the maker !! I had a sideboard like that once and it had several different woods but was grained like oak. As to value,,and assuming that it has been refinished, I would say under $200 !! Remember we are only going by what we can see !!  Had it been original and in good condition,, maybe double that .

[hosman321]

Maybe we are all being a little bit confusing for jabiloxi! Sorry! This is is the kind of picture that is most important, the outside corner of the drawer. If it has hand cut dovetails, it is most likely before 1880's-1890's. If it has machine cut dovetails, then it's probably post-1880's-1890's. I'm casting my vote for pre-1890's but a pic of that drawer would really help.

[KC]

hosman321 you rock! 

[cogar]

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-english-art-deco-drop-front-secretary-oak

[KC]

Okay....still waiting on the side view of the drawer.

However, the more I look at this piece...I think the base is original but the design at the top just doesn't fit the piece (In my opinion).  I think this could be an add on!

I do think if you look at the piece without that top piece it goes along with English and early American styles (late 1800's to early 1900's).  Remember, most of the early cabinetmakers didn't start here and if they did their families/employers immigrated from abroad!