Author Topic: Old Family China Hutch (Read 7032 times)

waywardangler · « **Reply #15 on:** May 24, 2011, 07:16:46 pm »

Quote

The cousin wants bids beginning at $7,250

Too much Antiques Roadshow perhaps?

Oceans64 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 24, 2011, 07:17:57 pm »

Nice job Smile! Even the small window to the left of the door looks the same!!

Now, in your Tales-like way, you simply MUST write them a letter including the old pics and maybe they can send you pics of the inside or a bit of history

So sorry about the hutch but it may still work out. This economy is pretty tough to be asking that much. I don't blame you for passing...

hosman321 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 24, 2011, 09:32:56 pm »

They'll never get anywhere close to that, probably not even half of that. With the economy the way it is, they will be lucky to get $1,000. WAY cool that the house is still there, good job katie!

mariok54 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 25, 2011, 12:16:19 am »

Hi Tales, I'm with the rest, that base does =not look that early. It (the base) is very similar in style to a couple of pieces we have, and they date to the 1890s - 1900. Without a proper valuation that $7500 starting price is a non-starter. I agree with Hosman, although values are different this side of the pond, but $1000 would be TOPS!
Good luck with whittling them down!

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #19 on:** May 25, 2011, 10:22:34 am »

I got another email from the cousin who put me in touch with the cousin who owns the hutch. It does not sound like they have had it appraised and so the 1850's date is probably the guesstimate of someone in a later generation of the family. We all seem to agree on the date of the hutch 1880-early 1900's and I suspect that this was something purchased while the family was still living in the Oak Park house. I would not mind paying fair market value in order to keep family items in the family, but I can't pay silliness pricing, even for the sake of preserving history.

I too suspect that the hutch will not sell at that price, so the cousin may learn more about the hutch as he attempts to sell it. We'll see what happens.

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #20 on:** May 25, 2011, 10:33:26 am »

I just got an email from the cousin who has the piece. They brought in an estate appraiser who told them that $800 plus crating/shipping/insurance costs was more in line to a family member. Now we're talkin'.

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #21 on:** May 25, 2011, 11:36:27 am »

Additionally, I think that this is actually a bookcase, I'm seeing some similar to this categorized as book cases rather than china cabinets. That's fine, it can certainly still serve as a china hutch in my house. I've emailed and asked for photos, dimensions, condition issues, accessibility issues etc.

KC · « **Reply #22 on:** May 25, 2011, 11:56:32 am »

So neat....they've re- configured the roofing over the doorway...but the rest looks the same! (Most likely it leaked and had to be redone....the "newer" one was less expensive am sure!) The detail pic is totally blurry on my end!

I would have to have better closeups and sideviews drawers...etc to form a solid opinion on this one. But without that....starting price of $7+......where did they get that from?

BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>a very, very, very nice piece!

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #23 on:** May 25, 2011, 01:15:44 pm »

I'm in direct contact with the cousin now and we're talking. I've requested the following photos:

Clear view of the front
Clear view of the back
Up close on the carved pieces near the top
Construction methods on a drawer
Up close shots of the hardware and any visible nail heads
Any writing or manufacturing tags that might appear on the insides of the drawers or back.

He says there is some deterioration of the wood on the back and I'm getting photos of that also. He describes this as "dusting" and I need to make certain that we're not dealing with woodworms and if we are, that they are completely erradicated before shipping. I won't really know what we are dealing with until I see the photos.

He has had it sixty years and writes that his mother (born in 1902) remembered sitting on the bottom shelf as a child.

So we will see, I'm moving forward cautiously.

mart · « **Reply #24 on:** May 25, 2011, 03:05:12 pm »

At least it sounds promising !! Good Luck !!

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #25 on:** May 25, 2011, 04:29:09 pm »

A little more info came in:

Dimensions: it comes in three pieces that lift apart.

Overall: 72" high.
top: 4" high, 48" wide, 12" deep
case: (within top and bottom overhang: 56" high, 48" wide, 11 " deep
bottom: 13" high, 49" wide, 17" deep
weight: unknown, and maybe unknowable without taking it all apart

it has not been refinished, restored, or damaged in the 60 years we have had it

The back of the left side is "frail"; the wood is "dusting" and may need repair or replacement; we did not do anything with it.
The back of the right side was bad enough so that we put a piece of silk (also a family antique, "family lore" says that a grandfather or great grandfather imported it) over it to hide the "dusting"

"Family lore" says the cabinet came from Germany in the 1850s, but we don't know that for sure. I do remember my mother (born in 1902) talking about sitting on the front shelf of the bottom as a small child.

We will try to take the pictures you want. The shelves are held together with small triangular inserts that I have never seen before. The sidewalls of the drawers show signs of rough carpentry; they are not smooth and show no signs of sanding.

We'll get at the pictures and send those along

...and in another email he says the "dusting" is not wood worms, but that the wood is so dry and old that you get dust on your hand when you touch it and it is fragile in places, an will require special handling/crating for shipping.

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #26 on:** May 25, 2011, 04:49:52 pm »

waywardangler · « **Reply #27 on:** May 25, 2011, 04:51:53 pm »

Those aluminum shelf rails have to go! I see the original shelf brackets are still there. Looks very nice, Tales, much better with the close-up pics.

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #28 on:** May 25, 2011, 05:42:54 pm »

My sentiments exactly Wayward! Off with the bracket! Hopefully it really isn't needed. It looks like classic late-Victorian era to me. Oak I believe, with machanized woodworking on the exterior, but hand-cut dovetailing on the drawers. Looks like shrinkage across the grain on the shelf, so I'm guessing the shelves are original to the cabinet. I do like the plate support rail on the shelf, original or not, I can use that. The hardware looks classic late-Victorian to me, machined screw heads and mass-produced parts. I should have some photos of the back and the deterioration coming, still waiting on those deterioration photos. It is a nice cabinet, but I will have to see how much the shipping/crating is going to run and consider everything carefully.

talesofthesevenseas · « **Reply #29 on:** May 25, 2011, 11:28:48 pm »

Well, I just emailed my cousin and told him I have decided NOT to buy the family hutch. Crating/shipping would run about $500 - $600 and to spend $1300-$1400, it really has to be something that speaks to me. What can I say, despite being a family piece, this hutch just was not grabbing me the way I had hoped that it would.