Many antiques dealers, whether selling from their own shop, a co-op or at antiques shows, carry a variety of items in order to appeal to a larger number of potential buyers. Some specialize, but many refer to their merchandise as “a general line.” Some dealers try to keep their products within a certain era, such as pre-1800 formal or “country.” A few carry English or Continental. But, most try to deal in Americana, pre-1850. However, when they have something that isn’t in their “field of knowledge,” they can make mistakes. After all, no one can know everything about everything.

An example is a dealer/customer of mine who carries mostly country or as he says “rural” items from the mid-Atlantic states. He wanted me to see a Chippendale side chair he just had purchased from a house sale. He said the seller didn’t know what she had. Therefore, he didn’t pay a lot for it. Also, he felt it wasn’t period but a nice Centennial chair.

When I saw it, the first thing I did was remove the slip seat. Then, we could see the corner blocks. They had been nailed in place, certainly not what a good chairmaker from 1876 would have done. Also, the nails were modern. I told him the chair wasn’t very old. He suggested that maybe the blocks had been replaced. Then, I pointed out the modern power tools marks that could be seen on the inside of the seat rails. Where the rails joined the rear legs on one side, the joint was a bit loose. Using my flashlight and a slip of paper, I could feel that the joint was two dowels. If this had been a period, Centennial, or well-made reproduction, these joints would have been mortise and tenon, not dowel. 

This drawer shows the Knapp joint made by the Knapp machine that was developed around 1875 and used extensively in factories until the early 1900s. Drawers with the joint, therefore, are factory-made.

I pointed out he had a 20th century reproduction, and poorly made at that. Whoever had built the chair did a great job with design, creating a chair that looked “right” until you checked more closely. There was evidence of power tool marks in several places. It apparently had been made in a modern woodworking shop with the newest tools available in the past 50 years or so. There’s nothing wrong with this, except he was going to try to sell it as a Centennial piece. Now, he knows it isn’t. Although he was disappointed, he also was pleased to know what he had. He said he doesn’t mind selling a 50-year-old chair for what it is. And, he was happy he wouldn’t be trying to sell a mislabeled chair. He also felt he should have looked more closely. But, he normally doesn’t carry this style and really wasn’t sure where to start.

Whether you’re an antiques dealer or a collector, never assume something is “right” just because it looks good. Always check beyond the surface. Sometimes, this is difficult, but it is always necessary!

While in a co-op recently, I noticed a one-drawer stand that appeared to be oak. When I got close enough to examine it, I could see it was chestnut. The best way to tell these two woods apart is to look at the end grain. In this case, I could see the end grain of the top. Along with the lines of grain in oak, there also are thin, light-colored lines crossing the grain. These can only be seen in the end grain and with strong light. The end grain of the top wood showed only the lines of grain. Therefore, it wasn’t oak, but chestnut. 

I opened the drawer and saw a piece of paper. It was a hand-written note from the previous owner with the history of the stand. Basically, it said her grandfather had made this when he was young. The oak had come from his farm. He had it cut into workable wood so he could make the stand. That was some time in the late 1800s.

This was an old family tale. Unfortunately, it wasn’t true. The stand was a factory-made piece. The drawer front was held to the sides with a Knapp joint, made by a tool invented about 1875 and used in factories to replace dovetails (see photo). The only way her grandfather could have made the stand would have been if he had worked in the furniture factory where it was made in the late 1800s.

Often when I’m told someone’s relative made an item, the piece turns out to have been factory-made. Sometimes, I see a label the owner hadn’t seen. That stops the guess work on the spot. Know what you’re looking at. When you see something that looks like it was factory-made, it probably was. Although there were many woodworkers in the late 1800s, most furniture was beginning to come from factories. The Industrial Revolution was here. 



One of the easiest pieces of country furniture to alter and fake is the simple one or two door cupboard. There were few closets in 18th and early 19th century county homes, but usually many cupboards. Nearly every room had at least one. They were used for storing everything from linens and textiles to preserves and other food items in the kitchen. If you’re looking for a country cupboard, there are some things you need to watch for.

Since a number of these pieces had their feet damaged by moisture, many have been cut down a few inches or a lot in order to create a smaller cupboard to fit in today’s home. The base or lower section of a cupboard usually is the first thing I check. If the cupboard is pine or poplar, which many are, the surface and edges of the body may show use and a little damage. You should expect that.

But, if the feet are crisp, something’s wrong. They should show more wear than the rest of the piece. In this instance, usually the cupboard has been lowered for some reason, generally due to bottom damage. If the feet don’t look as old as the rest, open the door(s) to look at the bottom shelf. If it looks disturbed, there have been alterations. Many times, a simple cupboard has cut-outs in the bottom of the sides and along the front to form simple bracket feet. This is found on many country pieces. Look at these cut-outs. If the edges are sharp or you can detect fresh-looking wood or stain, that “tells” you the feet have been newly formed.

Also check the door or doors closely. If a cupboard with doors has been lowered, the doors had to be altered too. If they are board and batten, the lower batten will be too close to the door bottom. Most of these doors have two battens. The lower one should be the same distance from the bottom of the door or a little more than the top one is from the top of the door. If that isn’t the case, something has been altered. 

If the doors are paneled, which few early country ones were, they would need to be taken apart, the panels and stile cut to the correct size, and then re-assembled. This would require a cabinetmaker who knew what he was doing. In this instance, and in general, have a small mirror with you. Look at the bottoms of the stiles. If the lower rail was re-fit, it wouldn’t show signs of new cuts. But, the stile bottoms would. The mirror also would be useful with a board and batten door. By looking at the bottom of such a door, you will see fresh cuts or stained wood if it has been cut down. Also, as I mentioned before, look closely at the inside of the lower area in the cupboard. If would be difficult to cut one down without disturbing the inside to some degree. Usually, there are signs of cuts, new nails, stains or shadows, and often all of them. As always, examine the details, not the major surfaces.

Sometimes, rather large cupboards are taken apart. Then, the new/old wood is used to create something else. That’s why you have to really look closely at any simple country piece of “antique” furniture. With the wood from a large pine kitchen cupboard, a good woodworker could create any number of smaller items such as bucket benches, dry sinks and smaller cupboards. That’s why you need to check every detail when looking at country items. There are a lot of good, honest pieces on the market. However, it’s the others we need to watch out for. That’s why it’s so important to look at all the “small” details when examining country antique furniture.

Next month, we’ll look at more fakes I’ve known. 

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- Antiques Leaderboad --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><ins class="adsbygoogle"<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px"<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> data-ad-client="ca-pub-9511683181499499"<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> data-ad-slot="1673509758"></ins><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --></script>