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.

When you are looking into antiques you will find that many period pieces are intricate and beautifully made. Many have high price values, but can you always tell what period of time they are from and what they are classified as.

Victorian pieces of furniture are perhaps the most popular antiques to this day, and as such, you have to know exactly what makes this style of furniture distinct, so that you can benefit from selling it to a collector, or if you want to start collecting them yourself.

The date of the Victorian period is from the late 19th century  from about 1850 to 1910 and there were various types of woods used including rosewood, mahogany and walnut to make all kinds of furniture. Usually the designs of these pieces were chucky and heavy with very dark finishes and ornate carvings. There various decorative elements added, and marble top were often used.

The Victorian furniture is often referred to as being clumsy. The next thing you can look at to determine whether a piece of furntirue is from the Victorian era, is to look at the type of finish used. Until the Victorian period only one type of finish existed that was clear, and this was called shellac.

The varnished and lacquers that we know of were not developed until later into the 1800’s. Usually the finish of a piece of furniture is shellac if it dates back to before 1860. Sometimes on very old pieces, they even used milk paint, wax, or oils to seal the wood. To date French furniture you can look and see if the finish is French polished, which is a version of the shellac.

For materials and trimmings, you can tell a Victorian piece by the puff that it has. This puff is usually due to overstuffing, because everything during that time had to be luxurious and ornate. Carvings, curved edges, rounded segments an scroll were used all the time, and braiding was also used frequently, normally in jeweled tones. Gold was a favorite color to use for upholstery.

Another way to tell if a piece of furniture comes from the Victorian era or not is to look at the types of nails and screw used. Before 1790 the rose head nails were used. These were forged by blacksmiths and are irregular in shape.

From 1790 until about 1850, the nails used were square headed nails, and from about 1850 when machines started to be used to make objects, the headless, tapered, machine cut nails were used in furniture making. Then in about 1890 the Penny and Brad nails were used.

In the authentic Victorian pieces you will also see that most hand planning was done for the unseen parts of furniture and you can find this out by feeling with your hand along the underlying parts and inside the drawers. You will feel uneven rows in the wood.

Another thing to look out for in chairs and arm rests are the dowels used to hold them together. If a piece is from the Victorian era, it will not have rounded dowels, but squared tenons instead. The wood used will also be thicker and contain virtually no blemishes. Knotty pine was not used at all by olden day furniture makers. By looking at the non mahogany furniture that was painted, you can also determine how old it is and whether it takes back to the Victorian era.

Once you know what to look out for when you go shopping to an antiques fair just to your local antique shop (I like Driscolls Antiques) , you might just fine the bargain of the century.

In antique furniture which dates back more than 100 years, there are various styles that you can find and if you know what to look out for, you can identify antiques from replicas and reproduction pieces. This will allow you to make an informed choice when going furniture shopping for antique pieces, or determine how much to pay for a piece of furniture that you think is antique.

Looking at how old a chair, wardrobe or desk is, you can look at the wood that was used, the type of joinery, the saw markings, the hidden pieces on the furniture, the carvings, the style, and the finishes. With some elements like the styling and decorative features, it can be harder to tell how old a piece is, as there are many reproduction pieces and design features that were used over many eras.

There are lots of styles that you can choose from and they all have distinguishing markings and features. Usually you will find pieces that are limited to the America Colonial and Traditional English periods at garage sales and in second hand shops, and in some hip boutique hotels like britannia hotel manchester or Andy Thorton . However, if you want to find the genuine Louis the XV chair you will have to go to a professional dealer or antiques fair (I suggest You to have a look here: What antique furniture .com) .

Looking at the styles you get, the older English pieces are categorized into Queen Anne, Georgian Chippendale, Georgian Adam, Georgian Hepplewhite, Late 18th Century, Georgian Sheraton, and Regency.

In the American Colonial styles you get the Early Colonial, Late Colonial, Federal, Pennsylvania Dutch, and the Shaker furniture. Here you will find more detail about what each style consists of:

English pieces

Queen Anne – This style comes from the early 18th century, and is mainly made from walnut, cherry-wood, oak, mahogany, and maple. These pieces normally consist of lots of curves which are graceful and plenty of curved legs, there were no rungs or any kinds of stretchers used, and they were simple and elegant with not too much decoration.

Georgian Chippendale – This style dates back to the late 18th century, and was predominantly made from mahogany. They are a slight elaboration from the Queen Anne style with more ornate carvings and features, many of which were quite bold. Many themes were also used such as Chinese, Rococo, English, and Greek Classic. The chair backs were especially intricate.

Georgian Adam – Also dating to the late 18th century, and also using mainly mahogany, the Georgian Adam used slender lines and was influenced mainly by Greek Classical styles. As such, fluted columns were used frequently and delicate carvings were introduced, like the draped garlands which were a favored design.

Georgian Hepplewhite – This style is from the late 18th century, and uses mahogany and satinwood inlays or veneer. This style was based on the Adam, with tapered legs, and oval, heart, or shield shaped backs of chairs.

Georgian Sheraton – Also from the late 18th century, made from mahogany, this is similar to the Hepplewhite, only straighter lines were used and the Classic Greek influence saw lyre shaped chair backs.

Regency – Dating to the early 19th century, mahogany was favored and the designs were bold, simple, and more functional, with colors being used.

American Colonial stylesEarly Colonial

Dating to the 17th century, this style used maple, pine, birch, and walnut with heavy decorations and carvings. These were solid constructions and lots of square lines were used.

Late Colonial – From the 18th century, this style used mainly pine and mahogany, and the pieces were interpretations of the English Georgian and Queen Anne styles. One example is the Windsor Chair.

Federal – This dates to the early 19th century and used woods like mahogany and cherry. These were interpretations of the Georgian styles with some French influence and are heavier than the English styles. Examples are the Hitchcock Chari and the Boston rocker.

Pennsylvania Dutch – This style is from the late 17th century to mid-19th and used pine, maple, walnut, and fruit woods. They are plain Germanic styled pieces and are solid and usually painted colorfully with Germanic decorations.

Shaker – This dates from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century with pieces being made from pine and maple. They are very functional with no decoration but of excellent design and craftsmanship.

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.

Beautiful antique furniture is a priceless possession and should you decide to sell it, you will find it fetches you a significant price.

If you have an antique chair piece and are wondering how to tell if it’s really unique, you need to do some tests on it, to determine this.

A piece of furniture is classified as antique, only when it is more than 100 years old or 150 years old. Furniture that is younger than this is not an antique piece.

If you have an antique chair how to tell if a chair is antique?

Check out the materials used to make it

In order to determine if your antique chair is really 100 to 150 years old, you have check out on the materials that have been used to make it.

Furniture that was made 100 years ago was done using cuts and polishes that are not what you see today. Much of American antique furniture was made using pine wood. The finish of the piece shows the difference and it is the finish that must be examined to determine the age of your antique chair piece.

Craftsmanship

One of the easiest ways on how to tell if a chair is antique is to look at the craftsmanship. Old antique furniture is definitely made by hand and machine cutting was introduced only in the 1860’s.

Furniture that is made by hand can be clearly made out in the way the edges are cut, in the shaping and in the joints. Joints will be dovetailed by hand.

You can find this out easily as they will be few in number and they won’t be evenly placed. If you see nicks and cuts on the furniture area, say in the sides or the bottom, it’s yet another indication that it was hand-made. Such cuts would have been done by spokeshave, or a plane and if you see straight saw marks is a sure indication that the furniture is an old piece.

Symmetry

The next point to check is the symmetry. It is not possible to get the perfect symmetry in hand-made furniture, though such differences are really hard-to-spot.

However, they do exist and you can see that pieces such as slats, rungs, rockers and so on, in the furniture piece are not uniform in their shape.

There is no perfect cutting here. When you look at reproductions of antique furniture, you will find them to be cut by machine and that’s why though they look just like the original, they can never replace the original because of the way they are made.

In old pieces of furniture, what is a main give-a-away is the size. With age, wood will shrink in size and this shows in the lack of uniformity in the piece’s dimensions, though you have to inspect the piece carefully to find this out.

Color differences

Another factor that shows age is color differences on the surface. This happens when it is exposed to sunlight in an uneven form. Another giving factor is hairline cracks, which can be found out only after clean inspection of the surface using a flashlight.

Check the finish

The final thing on how to tell if a chair is antique is to check is the finish. Antique pieces that are dated prior to the times of Queen Victoria have a Shellac Finish.

Sometimes you can also find them to have a French-polish finish which is another form of the Shellac Finish. Furniture that came after the mid 1800’s has a lacquer and varnish.

The best way to find out Shellac Finish is to test the furniture surface using denatured alcohol. After a small application, if the finish dissolves, it is made from Shellac.  Furniture pieces that are made prior to the 1850 also used oil, wax, or milk paint which can be determine by applying ammonia.

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.

People who own an antique table know how difficult it is to refinish and clean it. Since it is an expensive piece of furniture a small mistake can prove detrimental and may end up reducing its value financially and aesthetically.

So here are a few easy tips that you can follow while refinishing or cleaning your antique tables.

Cleaning:

The most important thing to remember while cleaning antique furniture is to not use material that will damage or stain the paint or veneer.

The dirt and grime that accumulates on antique furniture over time can be attributed to the oil that we leave behind from our skin and from our cooking. This combines with the dust particles in the environment to form a layer of dirt on the surface.

Gilded

If your table has areas that are gilded (use gold or silver leaf) you need to be particularly careful because these areas are easily prone to damage. All you can do here is lightly dust these parts with a very soft dry cloth or a soft brush. But before you attempt cleaning the visible areas always try out your ministration on a hidden part to check for unfavorable reaction

Wooden

The wooden or veneer surface will usually have some water soluble dirt and stains accumulated. You will need to use a mild soapy solution to clean this part.

The soap that you use should preferably be liquid dish washing soap that is mild, using a detergent soap or the dish washing bar may damage the furniture. When cleaning soak a soft cotton cloth in a little but of the solution and wipe the surface gently with it.

Avoid using the solution on parts where the veneer is chipped or the surface is already damaged. If you feel the soap solution is not giving you the desired results than you can go for a stronger chemical solution. The best choice would be to opt for a phosphate free TSP solution which is readily available at most hardware stores.

Paint

If the area that you are trying to clean seems particularly sticky this may be caused due to lacquer damage and trying to clean hard will just damage the paint or stained wood underneath. So you need to stop cleaning with a water based solution immediately if you see the finish disappearing since the water based solution will cause the wood to swell.

A solvent based solution will be a safer option in this case. Naphtha which is a good choice is available in most hardware stores. You just need to be careful while using it since it has a very strong odor and should be used with gloves and in an open space. It is important to always use a soft cloth simply because a synthetic or metal scrub will remove the finish.

Once you are done cleaning the surface should look bright and should not have any stain marks. If the surface looks scratched you can use paste wax to brighten it