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Victorian antique furniture refers to pieces made during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), and includes both mass produced pieces and those hand crafted in small shops by designers such as Herter Brothers, Allen and Brother, Merklen Brothers, John Henry Belter, Alexander Roux and R.J. Horner.
Although some designers like George Hunzinger put labels or stamps on all their furniture, many did not, so attributing a Victorian piece conclusively can require lots of research. In terms of wood, walnut is generally inferior to rosewood, which was used on higher end pieces...
There are many, and very different, Victorian furniture styles. In fact, famous Victorian designer Charles Eastlake himself hated Rococo, which is mid 1850s Victorian. Here are some of the main Victorian styles:
1) Gothic Revival (circa 1830-1860). Think churches and you have a good feel for this furniture style - design elements such as arches, quatrefoils, trefoils, spires, and crockets.
2) Rococo Revival (c. 1840-1865). High-style furniture of French influence marked by use of naturalistic flora (flowers, shells) and fruit as well as C-scrolls and S-scrolls, and highly sinewy curved lines.. Early pieces may have used mahogany, but common Rococo often used Walnut, while the top-end leveraged Rosewood.
3) Renaissance Revival (c. 1860-1890). Reverses the feminine elegance of Rococo around the time of the Civil War by espousing masculine arches, cartouches, animal and human figures, inlaid panels, burl panels, gilt incising, and ormulu mounts. Subgenres include Egyptian Revival, Modern Gothic, and Neo-Grec.
4) Eastlake and Aesthetic Movement (c. 1880-1900). Moving away from the showy complicated designs of prior eras, this furniture has stylized natural elements (flowers, leaves), rectangular forms and severe lines, shallow incisings and turnings. On finer pieces, marquetry, inlay and veneering can also be found.
How did I get started collecting Victorian Furniture? Antiques is in my genes, my mother's family were longtime ant… [more]
"Why do writers on antique furniture leave off right where my interest begins," protests a man who has acquired an … [more]
In the broadside political caricatures which were produced and circulated quite freely in America from the beginnin… [more]
About 11 years ago, my wife and I went on some architectural tours. We joined the organization that sponsored the t… [more]
How did I start collecting Victorian trade cards? In the late 60s I was a bottle collector, early American bottles … [more]
As a teenager, I collected everything from vintage bicycles to Coca-Cola to Victorian stuff. Once I realized some o… [more]
Malcolm Warrington is based 12 miles to the west of Central London. He is a council member of the UK Ephemera Socie… [more]
John Werry's in-depth blog on rare Victorian Furniture, with detailed, informative and often humorous posts on doze… [read review or visit site]
Scott Geyer's blog on the innovative Victorian furniture designs of George Jacob Hunzinger, who began manufacturing… [read review or visit site]
Chuck LaChiusa's wonderful guide to the architecture and history of Buffalo, NY, also happens to host an impressive… [read review or visit site]
Attention paper collectors: don't miss Malcolm Warrington's exquisitely designed tribute to Victorian scraps (stamp… [read review or visit site]
This beautiful site showcases the collection of Stanley and Polly Stone of Fox Point, Wisconsin, consisting of earl… [read review or visit site]
Ben Crane's excellent reference site on Victorian trade cards. Includes a scrapbook containing hundreds of beautifu… [read review or visit site]
Malcolm Roebuck's tribute to the ornate silk picture bookmarks and postcards ('Stevengraphs') produced by Thomas St… [read review or visit site]
Steven Cabella's personal homage to Charles and Ray Eames. This site is as clean and visually appealing as the Eame… [read review or visit site]
This huge online database from the Speed Art Museum is a rich trove of beautiful photos and reference information o… [read review or visit site]
The Index of American Design project (1935-1942) was an effort to catalog American decorative arts objects from the… [read review or visit site]
This microsite from the LA County Museum of Art provides a good overview of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe … [read review or visit site]
An overview by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts of the design movements between 1880 and 1940 that comprised Moder… [read review or visit site]
This website showcases several hundred pieces of furniture, held by thirteen museums, that were designed for Herman… [read review or visit site]
This Library of Congress microsite is an overview of the postwar modern design work of Charles (1907-78) and Ray (1… [read review or visit site]
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Source: Google News
where Alice has slipped down the rabbit hole and falls past old mirrors, lamps, grandfather clocks, and Victorian furniture on her way to Wonderland...Read more
Thursday March 11th 2010/7pm Exceptional Estate Auction with fine gold and diamond jewelry Tiffany & Co, Victorian furniture, quality smalls, etc...Read more
“The stage and set are so realistic, with real Victorian furniture and costumes,” Jones says. “This is a top-notch play.”...Read more
while the autobiographical work “The Whatnots” refers to the Victorian furniture used to display collectibles; Lipman's bear pieces of black glass refer...Read more
A Chickering square grand piano made in Boston and a nice selection of Victorian furniture will also be available. “Most of these items are rare and...Read more
Directions: 20 Bonnie Brae Road ( Rt. 724 ) , Spring City , Pa COUNTRY FURNITURE, VICTORIAN FURNITURE PARTS, HUNDREDS OF PIECES OF GLASSWARE, CHESTER COUNTY...Read more
Victorian furniture is divided into a number of substyles. There is, for example, the Renaissance revival (1860-1875), which was influenced by the Italian...Read more
Victorian furniture manufacturers also used a great deal of poetic licence to satisfy their mass markets and very few of these revival pieces were faithful...Read more
