Posted 8 years ago
CollieGurl
(1 item)
I inherited this family table. When I was little my grandmother told me it was made in Germany by the family and brought over here and that when she inherited it in the 80s she had it refurbished by an antique dealer who told her that it was over 100 years old then. When I inherited it 6 years ago, my aunt told me that it wasn't built in Germany but here in the states. A few years back a lady I know searched my family genealogy, on that side of the family, and found boat records of the Seitz family arriving in Baltimore. They settled down in Indiana. The table eventually made it down to TX with the Coffee family. This is all I know about the table and I would like to know more. Like was it built in Germany or Indiana? Is it really as old as the antique dealer said? There is some writing on the bottom which I haven't been able to completly make out. I have posted one picture of part of the writing. It is very pretty handwriting which makes me think it may be from the guy who built it, as most people don't have handwriting like this any more. It also has two extra leaves.
Keep in mind that if this was refurbished, the individual who did the work would have signed his work. Signing your work is a kind of advertising. You work for a little less doing the job with the agreement that you brand or sign the work so people know who did it. Some dealers agree with that type arrangement and some don't. It usually depends on the piece and the resale value. You don't sign a high value item because it speaks for itself.