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 longti… [more]
How did I start collecting Victorian trade cards? In the late 60s I was a bottle collector, early American bo… [more]
About 11 years ago, my wife and I went on some architectural tours. We joined the organization that sponsored… [more]
As a teenager, I collected everything from vintage bicycles to Coca-Cola to Victorian stuff. Once I realized … [more]
Malcolm Warrington is based 12 miles to the west of Central London. He is a council member of the UK Ephemera… [more]
John Werry's in-depth blog on rare Victorian Furniture, with detailed, informative and often humorous posts on doze… [more]
Scott Geyer's blog on the innovative Victorian furniture designs of George Jacob Hunzinger, who began manufacturing… [more]
Chuck LaChiusa's wonderful guide to the architecture and history of Buffalo, NY, also happens to host an impressive… [more]
Attention paper collectors: don't miss Malcolm Warrington's exquisitely designed tribute to Victorian scraps (stamp… [more]
This beautiful site showcases the collection of Stanley and Polly Stone of Fox Point, Wisconsin, consisting of earl… [more]
Ben Crane's excellent reference site on Victorian trade cards. Includes a scrapbook containing hundreds of beautifu… [more]
Malcolm Roebuck's tribute to the ornate silk picture bookmarks and postcards ('Stevengraphs') produced by Thomas St… [more]
Steven Cabella's personal homage to Charles and Ray Eames. This site is as clean and visually appealing as the Eame… [more]
This huge online database from the Speed Art Museum is a rich trove of beautiful photos and reference information o… [more]
The Index of American Design project (1935-1942) was an effort to catalog American decorative arts objects from the… [more]
This microsite from the LA County Museum of Art provides a good overview of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe … [more]
An overview by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts of the design movements between 1880 and 1940 that comprised Moder… [more]
This website showcases several hundred pieces of furniture, held by thirteen museums, that were designed for Herman… [more]
This Library of Congress microsite is an overview of the postwar modern design work of Charles (1907-78) and Ray (1… [more]
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Knoxville News Sentinel, TN -
For those of you who own Victorian furniture, I want to issue something of a warning. I was talking to a nationally respected antiques specialist the other ...
Antiques and Arts Weekly, CT -
... carved Victorian parlor set, unusual turn of the century carved teak step table, Victorian furniture including slant front desk, marble top dresser, ...
Free press releases (press release), UK -
Their offerings include: antique Georgian furniture, antique Victorian furniture, antique Edwardian furniture, antique Art Deco furniture, ...
Fort Worth Business Press, TX -
Along the way, Bergstrom decided Sanford House needed the cottage suites – each with its own fireplace, antique Victorian furniture, flat-screen ...
The Associated Press -
At first, Mrs. Bush voiced misgivings to her husband, telling him, "I'm not so wild about Victorian furniture," but he was sold on it. "He said, 'Oh, no, ...
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH -
Eastlake was a reform movement, in contrast to the fussiness of detail-laden Victorian furniture. It was made throughout the East and Midwest in large ...
Ottawa Citizen, Canada -
This is a nice piece and in great original condition, but these days it's a buyer's market for this kind of Victorian furniture. Still, it should be worth ...
Antiques and Arts Weekly, CT -
Highlights: Victorian Furniture: 4 Dr. Marble top dresser. Eastlake 3 dr. marble top dresser w/ mirror. Eastlake sofa. Marble top stand. ...
Antiques and Arts Weekly, CT -
A nice lot of early and Primitive Antiques, Books, Victorian Furniture, Wicker and Accessories. Oak Sideboard w/Curved Glass Sides; Country Bookcase on Base ...
Huffington Post, NY -
For example, she salvages ornate Victorian furniture from flea markets and reupholsters it with ikats or suzanis. The result: an instant update that is ...