John Henry Belter, born in 1804, is well known in the furniture and cabinet making industry for being an innovative designer and is famous for his rosewood furniture, and Rococo designs.

This was a new wood used in making furniture that Belter used predominantly. He came from Germany and replaced the famous Duncan Phyfe who had made furniture in New York for almost half a century.

Belter made mostly Louis XV reproductions and his unique style was known as the early Victorian. This style that he developed consisted of using limited rosewood to create bold carvings and concaved chair backs.

From 1884 to about 1865, he created drawing room suites for rich New Yorkers. This was his trademark and each piece distinctly had the finger molded cabriole legs that became famous during that period of time.

There are many pieces of John Henry Belter’s furniture still in circulation today including sofas, a few lady armchairs, some side chairs, an ottoman, an intricate oval table, and a child’s chair. You can easily see a Belter design because of the laminated chair backs that he used.

This was made into a concave shape by using 6 to 8 pieces of thin rosewood layers which were then glued together. He also used various scroll and floral motifs will a rose or shell crest on the back of the chair. The center of the chair was usually upholstered and framed with a carved rosewood border with braiding, scroll or rose bud designs. The backs of all the chairs in Belter’s collection were always done in a plain rosewood panel.

John Henry Belter started his furniture business at 40 Chatham Square when he arrived in America in 1833, but moved a few years later to 327 Broadway and then in 1855 he set up his business in the larger premises of 1222 Third Avenue.

This is where he stayed until his death in 1865. Not only is Belter renowned for his unique style of furniture making, but he even worked closely with piano maker who founded the Steinway Piano Firm to help him create rosewood piano cases that are still used today and are the basic design of a grand piano, with rounded edges to soften the sharp edges of the instrument, and large, heavy cabriole legs to hold the weight of them.

A few years before his death, Belter destroyed all of his designs to ensure that no one could copy them, and this is also one of the reasons that Belter original are so hard to find and that they are very expensive if you do find them. The workers that John Henry Belter used were always from his home country Germany, in the Black Forest region of Alsace-Lorraine, and trained in lace like knife work and deep cut carvings. He considered them to be the best and most skillful carvers and would not use any other workers to carve his furniture.

John Henry Belter was a legend in the cabinetry industry and his furniture fetches huge prices today.  He is one of the innovators and designers that shaped the history of furniture making and is considered by many to be a pioneer. The laminating method that he used was a secret for many, many years, but eventually he did patent it in 1858. He will always be considered as one of the greats and a masterful furniture maker of the early Victorian era.

There are various types of furniture that you can get in all different styles dating back hundreds of years, but how can you tell which pieces are the real McCoy, and which ones are replicas, or later models?

Also, when is a piece of furniture classified as an antique, vintage, or just old?

Well here some things that you can look out for when you want to buy an antique or sell one that you think is an antique so that you don’t get taken for a ride:

When looking at a piece of furniture there are certain categories that yours can fall under. The first is second hand furniture, which is dated from the 1920’s through to the 1950’s and many people do mistake these styles for antiques, as many designs were reused during this time.

True antiques are more than 100 years old are found in the following conditions. Then you get utilitarian furniture, which are old pieces that are ideal for everyday use, but that museums have no interest in such as joint stools and dry sinks.

The next category is the decorative, which are items that are intricate and usually better quality than furniture of today, normally Louis XIV revival, or Baker furniture.

Then you get the museum pieces which are too fragile to be used and are just displayed as part a collection. These are normally medieval, French, Tudor style or Louis XIV.

When you are looking to buy an antique there are many things that you must look for and if you are not sure about where to start or if you are concerned that you are looking at a replication and not the real thing, then you should get an appraisal expert to help you.

Sometimes you will also find true antiques sitting in your grandmother’s attic or perhaps a local second hand store will have something antique that they don’t know the true value of. This is the perfect time to buy as you will be making a sold investment. When you choose to buy something antique, however, remember to always look for the quality of the piece and if it needs to be refinished find out exactly what needs to be done first.

As mentioned above a true antique is more than 100 years old, but some stores value furniture older than 50 years as antique and fine antique dealers will label items antique if they are more than 150 years old. The best way to find out is get the exact age of the piece.

The value of the piece will be determined by various factors including the artistry, the conditions of the piece, and the country it comes from. Most antiques you will find come from England and France, but this will also depend on where you are located. In the West people consider antiques any pieces that came across the mountains, in the East, the Queen Anne furniture are considered antiques, while in the South of America, an antique is something dating back to before the Civil War.

When looking at antiques you will not find any pieces (or maybe very few) that are originals from the 1500 or 1600, but you will find genuine reproduction pieces from this era which are also very valuable. To spot an antique you can also look at various things like the joinery. You will be able to tell if a machine was used or not, and machine made furniture was not made until the 1860’s.  You can also look at the saw marks, because any rounded or circular markings could not have been made until this time as well. Before 1860 a plane, drawknife, or spokeshave was used which all cause straight saw markings.

Valuing old and antique furniture is something that not everyone knows how to do and normally if you want to sell or buy a piece, you look to the expertise of a dealer or appraiser to give you an accurate valuation.

For those that do want to start learning about antiques and how they are valued, however, here are some tips that you can use when you are at the next antiques fair or visiting your local antique store. You can also learn about valuation techniques to help you discover more about the pieces you have and what they might be worth before you even take it to a shop to sell or to a dealer.

The first thing to look for is if the piece has a stamp of mark of the manufacturer. Usually pieces that have marks will be worth more than ones that don’t. You should carefully scrutinize your piece with a magnifying glass to make sure that you don’t miss any small markings. In the case of painted furniture you can also look for an artist’s signature which will help a great deal in valuing the piece.

Next you must look at the condition of the piece of furniture. Simply finding a price in an antique guide is not enough. If the piece that you have located is not in the same condition as your piece you cannot make a comparison. You will have to do some more research and see how many flaws there are including any cracks, chips, scratches, and excessive wear and tear like water damage, tears, staining, or broken legs, spindles, etc.

The next thing you can check when valuing a piece is if it is common piece or a rare item. If an item of furniture is very rare, then it will be worth a lot more, even if it is not in very good condition. Say, for instance that you have a piece of Majolica pottery but it has a hairline crack in it, it will still be worth quite a lot of money. If you want to find out about how rare certain pieces are you can ask a local dealer or find an expert in the type of furniture you want to value.

You must also remember that when valuing item, just because they are old, does not mean that they are valuable.

Much of this has to do with the demand for an item and you will find that many items classified as antiques are not in high demand, which means that they do not have a high value. Similarly, if many of the same items from the early 1900s, for example, have survived, then they will be too common to hold a lot of value.

A very important factor to consider, when trying to determine the value of a piece of furniture, is to find out if it is real or fake. Many replica items that are carbon copies of original pieces have been created and some are only a few decade or even a few years old. Usually if an item of furniture has been in your family for generations and you know the history behind it, then it is authentic, but many items sold at flea markets and second hand store will need to be authenticated before you buy them. By looking for discrepancies in the markings will be a tell tale sign of a fake.

Another factor to consider is whether a piece has been restored or repaired. If an antique has been professionally restored, this can improve the value, but a poor repair job using some glue and noticeable solders, will negatively affect the value price of your antique piece.

An antique table can add greatly to the ambience of your house but its important for the table to be in mint condition. Regardless of how beautiful the antique table is it can loose its charm under a layer of weathered paint.

So if you want to refinish a piece of antique furniture and restore it with a new layer of paint you don’t have to turn to a professional establishment you can easily do it yourself here is how.

A Step by Step Process

The first thing that you need to do is choose a color. Try to keep it as close to the original color as possible. Next you will need to choose an appropriate finish you may go for a faux antique or cracked finish. Once the preliminaries are dealt with you can start by removing the original layer of paint.

To start, place the table on a drop cloth or on some layers of news paper so that you dont stain the floor. Next you will need some rubber gloves to protect your hands from the chemical removers that you will be using. Use a paint stripper which is easily available in most hardware stores.

Apply a thick layer on the surface of the table giving special attention to the crevices and carved surfaces. You can apply the stripper with a brush. The stripper needs to stay put for at least half an hour or as per manufacturer instructions.

When the paint stripper starts working the original surface will begin to bubble visibly. This indicates that the surface is now loose enough to be scraped you can use a blade scraper or putty knife t remove it. If the surface still has some residual paint you can apply a second layer and repeat the procedure. Once all the old paint has been scraped off leave the surface to dry.

What to do next?

Next use a sand paper with a fine grade to further even the surface. It is important to not exert too much pressure and sand the surface in the direction of the wood grain. You will then need to clean the dust and residue with mineral spirits. Once again let the surface dry completely. Now the surface is ready for the paint or stain that you intend to use.

Painting

Use a brush with fine bristles to paint the surface. Start painting in the direction of the grain. Once you have coated the entire surface gently wipe the stain off if using that particular finish after letting it set for 5 to 10 minutes. Once again you will need to follow manufacturer’s directions.

(Have a look at this video, it helps…)

And finally…

Finally brush a layer of satin coat urethane if you used a stain as the semi final coat. It is once again important to apply the urethane in the direction of the wood grain. Also apply a layer on the legs and embellishments. You will need to apply two layers of urethane to give your table a finished look but remember to let the first layer completely dry before applying the second coat.