Posted 10 years ago
EloiseB
(1 item)
This desk was in my mom's house as long as anyone can remember. I really like the wheat design on the middle drawer and am considering refinishing the piece. No one really knows the origin (house was built in 1913). The side drawers are 8 inches deep.
What a nice piece to have of your mothers ! First off it appears it has a veneer on front drawer on close up , that can not be refinished where it has pieces missing . Can't tell about top but looks like veneer also or it was stained on a soft wood . I would clean it and leave i if it was mine ,unless you want to apply new veneer which they do sell .
Looks like the 1920's -1940's appx era
Thanks, Manikin; my first step will be a clean up. I think it is a soft wood as there are many scratches.
I think Manikin is about right although I would have said 30's or 40's. The dovetails are machine cut. If it were much earlier they would be hand cut. Be careful how you clean it, some household cleaners will also eat away the glue that is under the veneer.
I am worried about damage during cleaning, so that's a really good point. Do you have any recommendations - Murphy's, lemon oil, etc.? It seems I need something strong, but not too harsh.
fhrjr2 is our wood expert . If there is anything you can do he will know :-)
I would start with mineral spirits on a paper towel and just wipe it, not scrub it. That should leave a haze which means it isn't clean. Just wipe it down and dry it. I can't see the top well but I do not think it is veneer. The secondary wood is full dimension from the looks and this was built to stand up. Next you will need steel wool. You probably aren't familiar with it but you need 4 ought steel wool. Ought is how people said zero a few years ago. So you need 0000 steel wool, it will give the 0's on the bag or box it comes in just look for 4 0's. Go gently and with the grain and rub it down. It is ok to use a little elbow grease because the #4 won't hurt anything. You will get dust so have a soft paint brush handy to brush it up. Then another mineral spirits wipe. Eventually you will get to a point where the ground in grunge and dust are gone. That is when you can see what you have to work with. Keep in mind restoring veneer isn't the easiest of tasks and there comes a point where expense is more than value.
what a gorgeous piece, legs are called delicate splayed (shape,style) France, c1910
as for handles ,these are known as swan neck,listed Britain ,late 19th century,Some 18th and 19th century pieces due to wood use may look veneer and not be ,I would take to my local high school wood shop teacher and ask .Just to be safe if done right these pieces can be worth a lot.Now don't get me wrong all replies you have received may all be spot on .But I just wanted to make sure you are cautious.
writing desk usually had leather on them back then didn't they ,I would say vanity/Dressing table with a mirror that goes on wall have you noticed if there was a mirror around.?
darladebo presents a good point about the finish being veneer. The pictures aren't clear enough to tell for sure. However, you still need to account for machine cut dovetails. European craftsmen refused to accept machine cut until well into the 1940's, they continued to stick with old world techniques and hand cut them. The dovetail is not a locking dovetail so that alone will date it.
fhrjr2 - Thanks for the cleaning tips - I will follow your advice for cleaning and will be cautious. The top of this is definitely not veneer, and although the front of the drawer has large scratches, I could not find a place where it had a separate piece of wood attached. The desk/table was in a tool room and not really shown much care.
darladebo - This could well be a dressing table or vanity, although there was no mirror with it. I really appreciate your comments on the leg style and hardware; that's exactly the type of information I was hoping to learn. I like your suggestion to take it to a shop teacher, and we have one in our area.