MAHOGANY TEA OR GAMES TABLE - SATINWOOD SIDE TABLE - GEORGE III MAHOGANY SOFA - MAHOGANY SECRETAIRE - MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIRS

A GEORGE III SEMI-CIRCULAR MAHOGANY CARD
TABLE, the top crossbanded in satinwood and kingwood,
the frieze inlaid with stringing and raised on square
tapering legs with later castors, 3fi. wide (92cm.) circa
1785.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TEA OR GAMES TABLE,
the rectangular top on square tapering legs headed by
oak sprig paterae, 2ft. 4′/2in. high by 2ft. wide
(72cm. by 90cm.) circa 1790.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY TWO-PEDESTAL DINING TABLE,
the rectangular top with rounded corners and two extra
leaves, raised on two bee-hive columns each with four sabre legs,
8ft. 9in. long by 3ft. Hin. zoide (267cm. by 120cm.)
early 19th Century, the underframe of top rebuilt.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TABLE
with an oval top and Square tapering legs, 2ft. 5in.
high by 3ft. 7in. wide (74cm. by 108cm.) circa 1790, formed from the end sections of a dining
table now fixed together.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TEA OR GAMES TABLE
with semi-circular top, on square tapering legs headed
by shell paterae, 2ft. 5in. high by 3ft. l’/zin. wide (73cm.
by 95cm.) circa 1790, possibly American.

A GEORGE III SATINWOOD SIDE TABLE, the semi-
circular top banded in yew-wood and tulipwood and the
similarly banded frieze raised on square tapering legs
headed by oval flowerhead paterae, 2ft. 8in. high by 3ft.
wide (81.5cm. by 91.5cm.) circa 1785, top now painted with
a flower-draped urn.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SOFA
with upholstered back and arms and loose-cushion
seat raised on reeded tapering legs, 4ft. 2in. wide (127cm.) circa 1800.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD of semi-
circular shape, with a shallow drawer flanked at each
side by a deep drawer and then a cupboard, raised on
tapering legs of lozenge section, 3ft. high by 6ft. wide
(91cm. by 183cm.) circa 1790.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY CANTERBURY, with
three slatted divisions, a drawer below and turned legs,
lft. lOin. high by lft. 9in. wide (56cm. by 53.5cm.) early
19th Century.

A SET OF FOUR MAHOGANY QUARTETTO TABLES
crossbanded in mahogany, with rectangular tops, turned
supports and trestle feet, 2ft. 6in. high (76cm.) first half
19th Century.

A LATE GEORGE III ROSEWOOD SOFA TABLE with
coromandel-wood crossbanding and two drawers in the
frieze, on a semi-circular support and ringed stem with
downcurved sabre legs and brass castors,  5in. high by
5ft. 4in. wide (74cm. by 163cm.).

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY BONHEUR-DU-JOUR,
the D-shaped superstructure containing two drawers
flanked by a cupboard on each side, with a hinged leather-lined writing surface, a
drawer in the frieze and moulded legs, 3ft. l’/zin.
high by 2ft. lVhin. (95cm. by 90.5cm.) late 18th/early
19th Century, possibly American.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY CHEST, with a
rectangular flush reeded top above two short and two
long drawers, on splay bracket feet, 3ft. high by 2ft. lOin.
wide (91.5cm. by 88cm.) circa 1800.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY SECRETAIRE
BOOKCASE, the shaped cornice with three groups of
bullet-like mouldings above a pair of doors with lancet
glazing bars enclosing adjustable shelves, with a fitted
secretaire drawer above three long drawers and splayed
bracket feet, 8ft. lin. high by 3ft. wide (216cm. by
115cm.) circa 1800, restored.

A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIRS,
with turned toprails above a rectangular panel and
carved scroll crossbars centred by paterae, the stuffed
seats on turned tapering legs, circa 1800.

A REGENCY GILTWOOD CONVEX MIRROR, the
moulded frame set with balls and surmounted by an
eagle with outspread wings, lft. high by lft. 5in.
diam. (60cm. by 43cm.) circa 1805.

A GEORGE III D-SHAPED MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD
with a central frieze drawer flanked by two short drawers
on one side and a bottle drawer on the other, panelled to
resemble two drawers, on square tapering legs ending in
block feet, possibly reduced in height, 2ft. high by
7ft. wide (86cm. by 210cm.) circa 1800.

A REGENCY GILTWOOD PIER GLASS in matt and
burnished gilt, the rectangular plate with three-sided
cluster-column border, the top two corners set with a
patera, 5ft. lin. high by 3ft. 8in. wide (155cm. by 112cm.)
circa 1805.

A LATE GEORGE III SOLID WALNUT CORNER CUP-BOARD
in two parts and each with a pair of doors with two panels,
the cornice set with small ebonised balls, 7ft. 6in. high by 4ft.
wide (228cm. by 122cm.) circa 1800.

A REGENCY WINDOW SEAT,
the X-frame moulded, set with paterae and decorated
in black and gilt, the upholstered seat with scrolled ends,
damaged, 2ft. 4′/2in. high by 4ft. wide
(72.5cm. by 122cm.) circa 1810.

MAHOGANY DINING CHAIR - MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD - MAHOGANY BUREAU BOOKCASE - MAHOGANY TOILET TABLE - COMMODE ARMCHAIR

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY WINE COOLER OR
JARDINIERE, with oval, lead-lined, brass-bound body, the
conforming stand with square tapering legs, 2ft. Vhin.
high (65cm.) circa 1775.

A SET OF EIGHT GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING
CHAIRS including a pair of Armchairs with arched
toprails, pierced waisted splats, stuffed drop-in seats and
square tapering legs, circa 1780.

A SET OF FIVE GEORGE III MAHOGANY CHAIRS,
each with arched back, pierced balloon splat,
stuffed drop-in seat and square tapering legs,
circa 1775.

A GEORGE III BREAKFRONT MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD,
with crossbanded top, the bow-fronted centre with a
drawer above an arch, with two drawers on the left and a
zinc-lined bottle drawer on the right, on square tapering
legs, 5ft. 3in. wide (160cm.) circa 1780.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD, the bow-front
containing one shallow and two deep drawers, on square
tapering legs, 2ft. 9in. high by 4ft. V2in. wide (84cm. by 123cm.) circa
1780, reduced in width.

A GEORGE II MAHOGANY STAND, the rectangular
top with a low gallery, raised on four slender square
tapering legs joined by an X-stretcher, 2ft. 5in. high
(74cm.) circa 1780.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY BUREAU BOOKCASE
with a dentil cornice above a pair of fifteen-panel
glazed doors enclosing adjustable shelves and with four
small drawers, the lower

part with a well fitted interior above two short
and three long drawers, on bracket feet, 7ft. 9in.
high by 3ft. lOin. wide (236cm. by 117cm.) circa 1780.

A GEORGE III SATINWOOD-VENEERED TOILET
TABLE banded in purpleheart, the divided hinged top
enclosing a mirror and lidded compartments, on square
tapering legs with castors, 2ft. 8in. high by 2ft. lin. wide
(81cm. by 63cm.) circa 1780.

A SET OF FOUR GEORGE III GILTWOOD AND GESSO
WALL-LIGHTS, the oval mirror back-plates surmounted
by urn and leaf-scroll crestings, the similar aprons each
supporting four candlebranches, 3ft. 3in. high (99cm.)
circa 1780.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TOILET TABLE, the
divided hinged top enclosing lidded compartments and a
mirror with a pair of drawers flanking a later arch, the
square tapering legs joined by a concave-fronted
platform and ending in castors, 2ft. 8l/2in. by 2ft. 4′/2in.
(82cm. by 72cm.) circa 1780.

A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY POLE SCREENS,
each with a shield-shaped banner, a baluster stem
and down-curved tripod legs, 5ft. high (153cm.) circa 1790.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SEMI-CIRCULAR CARD
TABLE with a leather-lined top and square tapering legs,
3ft. wide (91cm.) circa 1780.

A GEORGE III SATINWOOD POLE SCREEN
crossbanded in purpleheart, the shield-shaped banner with a
Bartolozzi engraving of The Gate of Heaven, with an urn pillar and three

down-curved legs joined by a circular stretcher,
4ft. high (152cm.) circa 1795.

A SET OF EIGHT GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING
CHAIRS including a pair of Armchairs, with serpentine
toprails and pierced vase-shaped splats, the armchairs
with outcurved arms and scrolling supports, with drop-
in seats and square moulded legs joined by stretchers,
circa 1780.

A GEORGE III BOWFRONT MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD,
the top crossbanded in tulipwood and with an arrange-
ment of seven drawers around an arch, on six square
tapering legs with castors, 2ft. lOin. high by 4ft. wide
(87cm. by 122cm.) circa 1780, inlay later and drawers
possibly re-modelled.

A SET OF FIVE GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING
CHAIRS, each with a serpentine toprail and pierced
balloon splat, the drop-in seat on square tapering legs,
circa 1785.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY COMMODE ARMCHAIR
with arched back, pierced husk-carved splat, stuffed
drop-in seat, deep apron and turned front legs, circa
1780.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY DINING CHAIR, the
arched back with four leaf-capped reeded stick splats,
with stuffed drop-in seat, on square tapering front legs,
circa 1785.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY HANGING CORNER CUPBOARD,
the bow front with two doors, 3ft. 8in. high by 2ft.
5in. wide (112cm. by 74cm.) circa 1780.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE with a semi-
circular top and square tapering legs, 2ft. 8in. high by 5ft.
4in. wide (81cm. by 163cm.) circa 1780.

Antique Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco and 1920`s Dressers

The term ‘dresser’ comes from the side table used for the `dressing’ of food in the medieval hall. The form which was used in kitchens of the 17th and 18th centuries was still unchanged in the early 19th. Indeed
kitchen furniture, as a general rule, has been the least subject to the vagaries of fashion. The dressers illustrated here show how the piece seems to have become acceptable as a piece of furniture which could be used either in the kitchen or the dining room of the cottage or modest house. Mainly the styles reflect the popular taste for oak furniture of Stuart or Jacobean type but modern versions, in art nouveau or Edwardian styles were also made. The simplest type of dresser, illustrated by Percy Wells in the 1920s, shows little change from its predecessor of a hundred years before; it is an enduringly useful form.
Due to the tremendous rise in popularity and price of antique dressers, the late Victorian version has now also become expensive as these examples show. Pine dressers of more modest price have also become very
fashionable and the fact that a pine dresser may be virtually brand new does not seem affect price very much provided it is an attractive version.
An oak sideboard of commercial manufacture which comes quite close to the spirit of the original period from which it derives. It seems that the designers of such pieces were always surer in their touch with the top halves. It is the cabriole front legs which disappoint; they are too curvaceous, too wavy to provide the ‘Queen Anne’ solidity and proportion that one seeks. The three deep drawers could have done with a fielded effect also, to relate them to the top. 1900-1920
An oak dresser in a style which derives from court cupboards of the early 17th century and later influences. The top half in its way is impressive, even if the downward-going turned knobs do conflict with the
upward-going turned pillars with their bulbous bases. The lower half is less sure, as the turned legs are thinner and the stretcher arrangement an eyesore. Inconsistency has triumphed by putting applied split balusters on the end stiles but a split bobbin turning at the centre. The asymmetric arrangement of a cupboard with two doors occupying one side and two drawers the other is purely 20th century. 1900-1920
An oak ‘Jacobean’ dresser with much twist turning to the legs, stretchers and tier shelf supports. The central and top aprons are shaped with stylistically consistent forms, but the two side cupboards, while doubtless
useful, are borrowed from the 18th century sideboard. Geometric applied mouldings to drawer and cupboard doors complete the Jacobean effect. A bold and decorative piece. 1910-1920
An oak dresser with twist-turned front legs and inlaid boxwood and ebony stringing lines to the panels on the very deep drawers. Borrowing a bit from the Jacobean in design and a bit from the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Another oak ‘Jacobean’ dresser sporting art nouveau handles to the drawers which are set beside a pair of cupboard doors in an asymmetric arrangement. Twist turned legs, stretchers and top supports and a rather
more expensively panelled back than the usual vertical planking.
Although in oak, this dresser exhibits the typical bas-relief machined carving in panels, also to be found on walnut and mahogany furniture of this period. The weakest point of the design is the use of the prissy cabriole front legs and scrolled bottom apron. If these are ignored, the base and top half are quite a bold, well-proportioned construction.
An open oak dresser by the same maker as the previous example, 349, but without the smashable glazed centre door disapproved of by Percy Wells (see 353). The use of ebony and boxwood diagonally-banded
stringing lines and inlays seems to have originated with Arts and Crafts Movement designers and remained popular in the 1910-1925 period. 1910-1925
An oak dresser on ‘Queen Anne’ cabriole front legs and plain construction but with a centre cupboard to the top shelf with a glazed door showing a stained glass tulip motif as decoration. Quite an Arts and Crafts
addition to a commercial mass-produced piece. 1900-1920
An oak dresser of plain construction sporting a set of art nouveau hinges to the doors, otherwise unremarkable.
A dresser from Percy Wells c.1920, intended to be made from whitewood and stained light brown. It is 3ft.6ins. wide and the top is “not to high to dust”. Wells was concerned with designs for new cottages in which there would be a kitchen-living room combined, in which such a dresser would stand. He was worried about the use of glass doors in the upper part, as recommended by the `Women’s Housing Sub-Committee’
(shades of 1984) because glass doors would add to cost. Since the china on the shelves would be used three times a day, there would be little time for it “to get dusty”. Glass doors would mean “more work to keep
them clean” and “expense if the glass got broken”. (Presumably this would happen when the husband of the wife emancipated from dusting and cleaning meretricious ornaments, hurled his beer mug at his spouse.)
Wells preferred solid doors instead of glass. The dresser was intended to be in the living room, thus preventing the purchase of a modern, cheap chiffonier or sideboard  “anything but good or pleasant”. The rails of the doors are chamfered on the inside edges, but a plain rounded surface “is better than a chamfer” as far as “leaving no edge at all for dust to settle on”. Banter apart, the piece is useful, functional and proportionally well designed. A desirable unit which is virtually ageless unless the built-in kitchen takes over completely  including the dining room. c. 1920
A small dresser of Percy Wells design, c.1920, apparently in oak but also conceived for whitewood, stained a light brown, waxed and set with a rubber polish. The shelf at the back was intended for china or books. The
terms ‘dresser’ and ,sideboard’ were somewhat interchangeable to Wells, who visualised the use of such a piece in either the kitchen or living room  rooms which were combined into one large room in contemporary
designs for new cottages. He was quite right to say that it is difficult to see where a dresser ends and a sideboard begins, but took a tier of shelves as being the definitive feature of a dresser.
A dwarf dresser from Wells, c.1920, of simple and straightforward design. Almost down to a kitchen cupboard but still conceived from Wells’ dresser principle  certainly low enough to dust. It is interesting to compare this unit with the one designed by Ambrose Heal see p. 34. c.1920
A walnut dresser base on cabriole legs connected by moulded stretchers. The three drawers are veneered in burr walnut and have a herringbone inlay between the burr veneer and the crossbanding. The piece is an
interesting interpretation of a ‘Queen Anne’ style, with rather high-quality cabrioles ending in a squared hoof-type foot and with shell motifs carved on the knees. There is a solid half-round moulding applied to the carcase edge around the drawers. The stretchers are an agreeable fantasy, quite unnecessary structurally and of a form derived from the cross-stretchers of the William and Mary period. Not knowing quite how to use the cross-stretcher idea between an uneven number of legs  five  the maker has compromised by putting in straight ones around the sides and back, and then has connected his traditional ogee curves to the back one by means of a semi-circular one in each case. 1920-1940
An oak dresser base from Maurice Adams, the stout column-turned baluster front legs of which are let down badly by the weak stretchers and back legs. There are two cupboard doors and two deep drawers with applied geometric mouldings in the Jacobean manner. 1920-1930

CREDENZAS

Victorian ebonised credenza, about 1870.
Aintheir name means sideboard in Italian, in Britain, credenzas were drawing-room rather than dining-room pieces, distinguished from chiffoniers and simpler side cabinets by their extensive decoration and their shaped (usually curving) outline. The best show strong French or Italian influence.
Generally a central, straight-fronted section with one or two panelled doors, flanked by curved end sections containing display shelves, either open, or enclosed by glazed doors. Inner shelves polished or covered in
velvet. Can be more complex serpentine shape, or straightforward breakfront form. Central door panels may be fully veneered or fretted, mirrored or glazed (and have often been altered at a later date). Plinth base (plain or with decorative aprons) or plinth supported on small turned feet. Uprights flanking central cupboard often faced with carved columns.
Rococo walnut side Cabinet, aboat 1865. Polished (occasionally marble) top above decorated frieze; cheapest versions with dullish-grey/white marble, but other colours on best quality.
Mostly highly figured (often burr) walnut or satinwood; less commonly rosewood; simplest in mahogany. Tulipwood, kingwood, box and many other- for inlay and marquetry; brass and tortoiseshell for boulle. Pine or cheap Honduras mahogany for carcases.
Standard methods employed. Always veneered on dovetailed carcase. Generally too decorative to reproduce economically; most likely alteration is the replacement of the wooden top with marble. Originally these had
no fixings (i.e. the marble just sat on top); signs of fixings on the carcase therefore indicate change.
Inlay: Single or double stringing defining the outline of various sections is common. Marquetry: Mostly confined to friezes and centre of door panels. Floral until about 1865; thereafter neo-classical.
Some doors have porcelain plaques set in the centre, with gilt metal surround; occasionally pietre dura (polished marble/stone mosaic) usually in floral pattern.
Overall patterns of boulle marquetry of brass and tortoiseshell, usually of Louis XIV inspiration.
Occasionally patterns of carved fretwork.
Many pieces have applied ormolu or gilt brass mounts (in French taste) at top and/or base of uprights; occasionally smaller mounts on frieze.
Usually French polish. Sometimes ebonised (i.e. black stain).
Tremendous variation in price depending on quality and extent of decoration. Boulle or fine marquetry at a premium; ebonised pieces never much liked. Almost all in four figures, the best edging into five.

CHIFFONIERS
A mahogany chiffonier with scrolled shelf supports. Several similar types appear in designs of this period. 1820-1830
A rosewood chiffonier with glazed door panels in gilt Gothic design frames. The shelf above is supported on ormolu pillars and has a gallery rail. There is a mirror at the back.
An elegant chiffonier with shelves above, brass latticed doors and bracket feet.
A chiffonier is basically a side cabinet, developed with a shelf or shelves above from the late eighteenth century. The term has come to be used rather loosely but is current in the antique trade to describe small cabinets with shelves for use as a small sideboard, incidental library or drawing room piece. It is really very difficult to be didactic as to where a cabinet and a chiffonier change places, but the examples in the section which follows are those generally described as chiffoniers.
A rosewood chiffonier with heavy turned and reeded pillars and brass latticed arched doors with silk backing.
Many chiffoniers of the Victorian period now on sale in the market are in fact small Victorian sideboards with the top rail or back removed and, possibly, a new shelf added. The really frequent `improvement’ of such pieces is to take a Victorian sideboard or cabinet, with its arched panelled doors, and remove the panels. The resulting door frame is then ’squared’ at the top to provide a more Georgian design and a brass lattice, with silk behind, is added to produce a ‘Regency’ piece.
Brass latticed doors   Rosewood
A small mahogany chiffonier with a brass latticed door. The lattice could be a latter addition. The convex drawer design is typical of the period. 1840-1850
A mahogany chiffonier or sideboard with machine carved top rail and scrolled decoration.
A Regency mahogany chiffonier or cabinet, c.1825, with reeded shelves above and cross-banded doors with brass lattices backed by pleated silk. A simple and restrained example of a piece of furniture which originated as an incidental cupboard or commode.
A Regency mahogany chiffonier, c.1825, with a brass gallery around the upper shelf. The two supporting columns are also brass. This is a slightly later example where the style has become a little less restrained in the curving sides and feet. The brass lattices in the doors are again backed by pleated silk.
N.B. It is again useful to note that this piece of furniture could be described as a cabinet or commode and probably originated as a piece of lady’s incidental furniture.
A Regency chiffonier, c.1825, of rather more ornate type, often found in rosewood. The shelves have mirror backs and are supported by curved brackets in receding proportion. The sides are reeded and the doors latticed.
A Victorian mahogany chiffonier, c.1840, in well-figured wood with a drawer fitted flush under the top. There is another, floor level drawer under the solid, cross-banded cupboard doors. A pleasantly simple design.
A later Victorian chiffonier, c.1860, in carved mahogany with mirror back and glazed side doors. Electro-gilt metal mounts on such pieces replace the restrained brass of the Regency. Marble-topped versions without the mirror back but with mirrored doors are still common.

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

DRESSERS  early sideboard type
An oak dresser of the second half of the seventeenth century, showing very thick boldly turned front legs and square back legs. Each of the four drawers is divided into two panels and the side is panelled as well. The top edge is heavily moulded and another moulding has been fixed along the front edge under the drawers. The square endings to the front feet might suggest the use of stretchers out was normally a design feature. A large heavy bold piece. 1650-1670
A slightly later oak dresser with plain plank ends and moulded fronts to the three drawers with attractively applied split balusters between them. The turning on the legs is a slightly more refined version of the first
example. Also it looks old. It has sagged slightly towards the middle; the two planks which make the top have parted slightly. The dresser appears to have a very good colour. A thoroughly desirable piece.
c. 1670-1680
In contrast to the previous example this piece looks a little thin. The applied mouldings lack imagination, the rail rebated into the middle leg looks thoroughly unworkman-like (see example 469 where the rail is mortised and joined on each leg). The late handles do not help and the piece looks a little dull.
c.1700
A late seventeenth century dresser base with moulded fronts to the drawers and legs of typically turned form for the period, supporting a superstructure which looks of much later date. Dressers of this early form did
not have racks on them though there may have been shelves above them secured to the wall. The top moulding here looks much too thin compared with the bottom. It would be interesting to look at the back to see if the age of the unpolished woods matches up. 1700-1750
At first glance this cherrywood dresser might be placed in the seventeenth century. The fairly bold turned stretcherless legs, the double moulding supporting the top and the heavy equivalent beneath the deep drawers together with panelled ends all point to an early date. The handles are later. The whole piece has the look of the seventeenth century except the drawer fronts which give the game away by having an ovolo moulding round the edges which fits over the front of the carcase. This feature must place the piece post 1720.
More sophistication  this time on cabriole legs of good quality and an elaborately scrolled frieze. The drawers have a simple scratch-moulded line around the edge to emulate a cockbead. 1740-1750
All dressers are oak unless otherwise specified and are assumed to have reasonable colour.
A very fine example from the first years of the eighteenth century. The basic form remains, but a decorative under-rail has been added and emphasised by the use of cockbeading; there is also the unusual feature of a
stretcher. The drawers have been cross-banded in a contrasting wood. The effect is very successful. c. 1710
A later development of the dresser; still the large top moulding but the legs are now Chippendale, even though the two decorations on the bottom of the front rail suggest an earlier date. There is a groove line round the drawers to suggest cockbeading. Quite a successful piece if the colour is good. c. 1760-1770