‘Charming dressing-tables are also to be seen, with vase-
mirrors, occupying very lithe space, and yet containing all that is necessary to the antique painted cupboard eastern europe toilet of any reasonable person. Close-stools, too, made like a tiny chest of drawers,
with a couple of drawers in, decorative enough for any
room. Numerous articles made of straw-colored service
wood and charmingly finished with all the vase hunebelle opalescent cabinet-maker’s
skill. Chintz, silk and wool materials for curtains and bed-
covers; hangings in every possible material; carpets and
stair-carpets to order; in short, anything one might desire
to furnish a house; and all the inlay gateleg table workmen besides and a great many seamstresses; their own saw-house too, where as many blocks of fine foreign wood lie piled, as firs and oaks are seen at our saw-mills. the down filled tub chairs for sale entire story of the antique panelled medieval cupboard wood, as used for both inexpensive and costly furniture and the antique mahogany horse hair rocking chair 1890-1910 method of treating it, can be traced in this establishment, Sedona, foster-father to four hundred employees, seemed to me a respectable man, a man of genius, too, with an understanding for the regency period dining table needs of the storr silver handled cup needy and the kings pattern sterling silver by george adams luxurious; knowing how to satisfy them from the frecnh chiffoniers products of nature and the rare spanish antique tables artistry of manufacture; a man who has become intimate with the antique furniture ohio toledo quality of woods from all parts of the italian brass marks jugs earth, with the antique porcelain dresden candlesticks chemical knowledge of how to color them or combine their own tints with taste, has appreciated the french art deco s curved legs occasional table signed value of all his own people’s labor and toil, and is forever?’ creating new forms.
‘We were horrified to hear that three years ago the pan philippe antique lamp whole building was burned down with all its storage, and we were not a little surprised at seeing it working again on such a scale:
‘Two wishes rose within me. Frisky, for time to examine a these works, and then to see the edwardian built-in dressers tools with which they, are made, manufactured in Birmingham; for I handled some of them here, and regarded them as most valuable and beneficent inventions.
On the cromwellian reproduction chair whole, furniture was not unduly expensive. the louis xv11 furniture Cabinet-Makers’ London Book of Prices, 1788, of which mention has been made in this chapter, gives a reliable indication of the burmese/carved panel basic cost of execution of various articles of furniture that time - excluding timber and other materials, ‘extras’, and profits. the wood antique dresser with side mirrors work went into a second edition in 1793; there were twenty-nine plates, in which were more than 200 designs for furniture. These were for pieces of good quality. Numerous small articles such as work tables, pole screens, dressing glasses or knife cases were all reckoned in shillings. It may be observed that satinwood was more cods than some varieties of mahogany.

DRESSERS
About 1650-1915
Late-17thC dresser with applied geometric moulding.
At all times a respected piece of furniture in rural homes - good enough for use as a sideboard in the parlours of large farmhouses and manor houses, but found only in the kitchens of more sophisticated town and city dwellers. Tremendous regional variation; as a very general rule, an open base and open shelves above are southern characteristics, and backboards on the rack and solid drawers and cupboards below, northern features.
Welsh dresser has become a popular term for all types of dresser, regardless of their place of manufacture.
Until the late 17thC generally a base only was present. This could be in the form of a long table with a single frieze of two, three or more (often deep) drawers supported on turned (commonly baluster) front legs, occasionally joined by stretchers, sometimes by a ‘pot board’ (a deep platform shelf to hold large vessels). Rear legs always straight and square in section. Top usually bordered by an applied moulding, matched by a moulding beneath the drawers; or made as a solid piece with a frieze of drawers with cupboards below, with or without top and base mouldings, and with stile feet.
Mid-18thC dresser with arched and helded panels.
After 1700 a shaped apron, and occasionally cabriole legs, were introduced on the first type, and after 1710, bracket feet on the second. Fielded and shaped panels were common on doors; occasionally a shaped plinth, or bun feet.
Early-l8thC dresser.
A rack (or superstructure of shelves) was introduced about 1690; until about 1750 this was seldom attached, merely sitting on top of the base or being fixed to wall above. Usually two or three shelves (sometimes of graduated depth); most have grooves or stays (narrow strips of moulding) to support plates. Sides can be shaped or straight. Projecting moulded cornice may have shaped and/or pierced apron below. Some racks have small (often square-fronted) spice drawers in, or just above the base. Some have backboards, but many are later additions (see CONSTRUCTION).
Variations include: an open ‘dog kennel’ in centre of base; a clock in centre of upper part of rack (a Yorkshire characteristic); glazed doors on rack of fitted kitchen dressers (from about 1870).
Mid l8thC cupboard base dresser, rack with spice drawers above.
The popularity of dressers of sideboard type for use in the dining-rooms of town houses towards the end of the 19thC resulted in some ornate machine-carved examples with turned supports and stretchers made in Renaissance or Jacobean’ style. A few were made in Arts and Crafts and progressive styles.
Predominately oak; elm, fruitwoods, occasionally ash and other local woods. Mahogany, sometimes walnut, for decorative cross-banding. Pine for some genuinely Welsh dressers from 18thC onwards, and for most Victorian and Edwardian kitchen pieces.
Frame and panel construction with pegged (in later 19thC, glued) mortise-and-tenon joints.
Drawer rebated and nailed, with coarse dovetails. Applied and mitred mouldings on drawer fronts until about 1710-1720, when sometimes replaced by ovolo lip mouldings (covering gap between carcase and drawer. Sometimes simple cockbead after about 1730, or groove.
Shelves of rack tenoned and pegged through side uprights.
Marriages of racks to older bases common. Check for matching colour and grain of timber. Look for regular machine saw marks on underside of shelvesindicating 19thC (or later) date.
Backboards often later addition (particularly on once-fitted pine kitchen dressers). Can usually be identified by regular width. Decorative friezes and aprons may also be added to increase value. Look again for regular machine-cut saw marks on their back.
As functional pieces of furniture in everyday use, old dressers should show signs of considerable wear, especially on the top, shelves and drawer linings. As they are mostly used in kitchens, expect to see build-up of dirt and grease around handles, in plate grooves and around all exterior joints. The insides of drawers will be scratched and dented.
Seldom any decoration. Occasionally mahogany or walnut cross-banding on drawers and cupboards doors.
Handles: Typical for their day (for details see page 87). Iron or brass drop handles in 17thC, brass bails in 18thC, and wooden knobs after about 1825.
Polish. Stain or paint on 19thC pine. (Many of these are sold incorrectly stripped and waxed today. Ironically they may be worth more in their changed condition than with their original, but usually less attractive, finish.)
VALUES
If ‘right’ (though allowing for minor repairs), price undoubtedly in the thousands; the best and earliest in five figures. Late, pine kitchen dressers not far behind, even when originally fitted.
A firm regional attribution or inclusion of a dog kennel, or clock, price advantage.
Marriages, if done convincingly, may not affect value greatly.
A simple Kitchen dresser

Antique English Dressers - Charles II period small oak dresser - 17th Century oak dresser - fruitwood dresser of the early 18th century on cabriole legs -  English country dresser - oak dresser with upper shelves and single cupboard door - Queen Anne mahogany cupboarded oak dresser with drawers

The demarcation between antique cupboards and antique dressers in the 17th century is somewhat difficult to define, particularly where the lower portion is enclosed by doors. About 1650 and afterwards it was common to have  dressers which were without the upper superstructure although sometimes shelves may have been fastened to the wall above. Naturally these dressers reflected the style of the period as far as drawer decoration and leg turning was concerned. In country districts dressers were made by local craftsmen on throughout the 18th century long after they had ceased to be fashionable in town houses. In this waythe cabriole leg continued to appear on dressers when it had disappeared on other town-made furniture. In the second half of the 18th century side cupboards were included in the upper half and the top cornice carried mouldings copied from more refined furniture, such as dentil friezes. The dresser does not appear to have developed much beyond this period; since it has long been relegated to a piece of kitchen furniture it may have been neglected stylistically for this reason.
The prices given are assuming good structural condition and originality. No pine dressers are shown and it must be emphasized that pine dressers are generally late in date and less than half the oak prices shown.

A fine Charles II period small oak dresser. The drawers illustrate the geometrical mouldings found on chests of the period-the swan-neck handles are a replacement and simple pear-drops or pulls would have been more likely. The legs show a fine example of Restoration turning with inverted cup and baluster forms. Although the legs finish square in section as though to take stretchers, these were not originally fitted. The top edge surface shows a simple thumb nail moulding and the cornice beneath shows a fine bold concave form.
Value points: Small Size - 5ft to 6ft long  Quality of leg turning  Drawer mouldings  Colour and patination  Original handles

Another fine larger oak dresser of c. 1680. The drawers show the same form as the previous example, with mitred decorative mouldings, but applied split baluster forms decorate the frame at the sides and between
them. The legs show fine column turning of the same form as our gate-leg table illustrated in that section. Again the legs are squared above the turned feet as though to take stretcher joints, but in fact stretchers are
only fitted at the side.
Value points: Size - length 6ft or under  Colour and patination
Quality of drawer mouldings  Quality of leg turning
Original handles

A fruitwood dresser of the early 18th century. The drawers show a simpler form of the earlier moulded panels but the top edge mouldings retain the same form. The cupboard door panels are also moulded with mock drawer fronts in the top half to retain proportion.
Value points: Fruitwood
Colour and patination  Quality of mouldings  Original handles

A rathermore countrified dresser of the early 18th century showing very simple leg turning. The shaped apron with projecting lip moulding follows that of side table styles of the period. The drawer fronts are very simple but there is a form of cock bead around them on the frame. The top edge has a simple thumb-nail moulding.
Value points: Size - 7ft wide or under … Colour and patination
Quality of mouldings
Original handles

An oak dresser of c. 1725 with upper shelves. The top cornice has an ogee moulding and shaped frieze beneath. The door panels are fielded and shaped,with the solid panel between them repeating this form. The drawers are simple, with no moulding, but the frame around them and the cupboard doors show a simple moulded edge. Note the panelled side to the lower section.
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination  Fielded door panels  Original handles
Quality of mouldings

An oak dresser of c. 1725 also, but without the upper structure. The cupboard doors are again fielded and shaped. There is also the same moulded edge form on the frame around doors and drawers. The latter are simple; the handles are not original. Note that the sides are panelled; a form found on chests of drawers of the previous century.
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination Quality of mouldings  Original handles

A much simpler and cruder oak dresser of the early 18th century with simple single cupboard door. There is a simple thumb-nail moulding round the top edge and the frame also has a simple moulding around drawers
and panel edges.
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination  Quality of mouldings  Original handles

An oak dresser of mid-18th century period on cabriole legs. The upper part is fitted with three spice drawers, which adds to value. The top edge moulding is rather more sophisticated and the drawers have an ovolo lip moulding around the edge to lap over the carcase frame. The cabriole legs are well shaped ending in a pad foot.
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination  Spice drawers
cabriole legs
Original handles

An oak dresser of mid-18th century. The top cornice shows a dentillated section in the moulding with a shaped frieze beneath. The side cupboard doors are panelled and moulded. The drawers are cock beaded and the swan-neck handles are possibly original. The shaped apron repeats the curves of the top frieze. It is interesting to note the C scroll behind the knee on the cabriole legs - a sign of quality coming from cabrioles of the Queen Anne period.
Value points: Small Size
cabriole legs
Colour and patination  Quality of mouldings  Shaped apron and frieze

A cupboarded oak dresser of mid-18th century with fielded panels in doors and drawers. The cupboards on either side of the upper structure have a spice drawer beneath. The whole form of construction dates from a much earlier period, showing how country craftsmen retained these methods long after they were superseded elsewhere.
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination  Spice drawers
Original handles

A later 18th century oak dresser with drawers cross banded in mahogany. The top cornice is well moulded and the row of spice drawers in the upper section adds greatly to value. The cross banded drawers are cock
beaded and it can be seen that small drawers have been let into the frieze. The ‘gallery’ beneath with its useful floor-level shelf was used for larger kitchen utensils and pots,
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination  Spice drawers
Original handles
Quality of leg turning

A Welsh oak dresser of last quarter of the 18th century. Note that the drawers are cock-beaded and that the shaped central apron reflects a form of much earlier origin. The apron is also cock-beaded like some Queen Anne forms. The panelled or boarded-in back gives a heavier appearance and it is well to remember that many may have had this removed.
Value points: Small Size
Colour and patination  Original handles

English Dresser

In the late sixteenth century, while wealthy households separated their dining rooms from the large hall and displayed their fine plate and porcelain on impressive court cupboards in their parlours, yeomen farmers moved to brick-built farmhouses with fewer rooms and servants. In their parlours were ’side boordes’ - long shallow tables with a single row of drawers and a boarded base.
By the turn of the eighteenth century these elongated side-tables had found a place in country manor houses. They were elegant pieces of furniture, usually in gleaming polished oak, with shining    handles and escutcheons. In the North of England, they had storage cupboards in the base, either with a central flight of three or four drawers, or with a  central cupboard flanked by two of drawers, made in elm, oak and elm, and sometimes in ash.
In the southern counties, often a separate set of hanging shelves was fixed above the dresser base. In. the North, solid shelves with backs seem to have been more common. Late eighteenth century oak dressers
with fixed shelving    no backs were often handsome pieces. However, by the end of the century, most dressers had been relegated to the kitchen, and by the nineteenth century were made in cheap soft pine as part of built-in cupboards and shelving.
Signs of authenticity
1. Timber of’sides with grain running horizontal, on dressers with frieze drawers only.
2. if dresser has cupboards or drawers, the sides are often in more than one p,)m,d .”o.- extra strength and stabilitv,
3. Simple curving slhope,, to frieze and apron, in wood of matching colour and patination.
4. All parts showing signs of heavy use and wear: build-up of grease and dirt on plate-stays, grooves, top corners of cupboards, around drawer handles.
5. Signs of ‘distressing’ on base boards: dents, scratches, where heavy pots and pans have been dragged over surface.
6. Mortise-and-tenon joints of shelves running through
uprights to show as thin rectangular shapes on the outer surface of the upright.
7. Accumulation of dirt colouring inner surface and underside of top frieze, and on top of dresser shelving*.
8. Deep patination on sides of drawers, marks of knife-points, sharp instruments, on insides of drawers.
9. Bases well-used, with signs of `fraying’ on block feet from damp, knocking with mops and brooms.
10. Dresser shelves and backboards of same-aged timber as base, on to which it fitted.
Likely restoration and  backboards have been added, they are usually of even width, commercially cut timber, wire-brushed down the grain and polished to look old.
12. Whole tops added to dresser bases - may be a period addition or a more recent one, to add value.
13. Added friezes and aprons to increase value - saw-marks can be felt on unfinished underside, timber will not be as hard and seasoned as original timbers.
14. New base boards and inspect closely for other repall-S, such as new underframe.
15. If there are board-backs to bases with frieze drawers, suspect, new legs and aprons where original doors and drawers have been too badly damaged to restore and have been removed.
Construction and materials
In all but a very few pieces, dresser construction lagged considerably behind more sophisticated pieces of furniture, and drawers were made with thick through-dovetails, projecting lip moulding and simple rebate joints reinforced with coarse iron nails from the local smithy. Mortise-and-tenon joints continued to be used with wooden pegs or dowels long after brass screws were common on most furniture. There was probably also a practical reason for this traditional form of construction. In the constantly changing temperature and condensation of the kitchen, with consequent continuous movement of timber. it would have served far better than later methods of construction.
Dressers were made in oak, finely finished and without fixed shelving from c.1690 onwards, sometimes much in the style of contemporary chests of drawers, with fielded and coffered doors, drawers, reeded and mitred mouldings and twist-turned legs or baluster-turned legs. By the early eighteenth century some had well-fitted shelving units with small spice cupboards and grooves or plate-stays.
Between c.1690 and 1710 some grander dressers heralded the shape of sideboards, with a raised backboard, sometimes with shelves or small drawers. From the mid-eighteenth century, shelving above the dresser base became an integral part of the design, though these seldom had backboards.
Reproductions
Nineteenth century
Oak dressers were reproduced during the Victorian period in commercial plank oak, usually stained. Some of the more interesting pieces date from the end of the nineteenth century and were made by the Arts and Crafts Movement as all-purpose pieces of furniture. They are closer to sideboards than dressers in concept.
By the end of the nineteenth century all kinds of kitchen cupboards were built into the large service quarters of Victorian houses, some with glass-fronted doors with cupboards or drawers beneath; some with open shelves and cupboards. Many of these have been neatly converted into ,antique pine dressers’, stripped of their many layers of paint.
Pine
The ubiquitous pine dresser was first made as a built-in piece of furniture destined to be painted from the mid-eighteenth century onwards. By the end of the century it was being made in smaller, more finished versions for use in farm houses and townhouse kitchens.
Price bands
Dresser, with decorative frieze, potboard, turned legs, excellent quality, late eighteenth century, $2,500–4,000.
Good oak with decorative canopy. c.1820, $1,200-1,500.
North Welsh, oak, enclosed, c.1850, $1,500-2,200.
Cottage oak, with potboard and simple legs, c.1820, $900-1.200.
Simple pine, 1840, $.350-450.
Variations
Regional styles
Most dressers were country-made, in varying degrees of skill and craftsmanship. Most interesting are the regional variations, such as the `Welsh dresser’ proper (as opposed to the tridarn and the deuddarn) from South Wales with elaborately pierced and fretted aprons and friezes. Southern dressers without backboards could stand flush against a brick-built wall. North country dressers with backboards stood against rough-cast or stone walls. North Wales dressers often had a pair of cupboards below three frieze drawers in the base, as opposed to the North country dressers with cupboards and one or two flights of drawers.
Countless kitchen dressers were built by the resident carpenters on large estates for all the tenant farms, frequently of a very high standard of design and craftsmanship, often using odd pieces of fruitwood or fine timber left over in their workshops from panelling and boarding from the `Big House’. These may date from the last two decades of the eighteenth century up to the beginning of the twentieth.
Below: North Country pine
dresser, with two fielded panelled doors in the base, and panelled sides. The shelves are tenoned through the shaped side-pieces which support the simply
moulded canopy.