By Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Helaine and Joe: I hope you can solve a family disagreement--namely the age of the cherry secretary in the enclosed pictures. In one of the drawers there is an 1848 date. I believe this date is wrong and the piece is much earlier, while other members of my family think the date is right. What is the history of this piece and its value? You should know that the drawer pulls have been replaced and one door is a replacement.--K.D.K., Oregon, Ohio
Dear K.D.K.: We know that when people talk about "antiques," they are speaking about items that are "old"--usually 100 years or more. However, we want to say that age is not the proper focus when trying to determine the merits of an "old" piece.
To be sure, collectors want items to be as old as they are supposed to be. They want their "Chippendale" chairs to have been made in the third or early fourth quarter of the 18th century, they want their Victorian "Rococo Revival" sofa to be from the 1850s or 1860s, and they want their Galle cameo glass to be from the late 19th or early 20th century.
Serious collectors are far less interested in "Chippendale" chairs from the 1920s, Victorian "Rococo Revival" sofas from the 1960s and Galle cameo glass from day before yesterday. In this sense, age is extremely important, but if the item being evaluated is as old as it is supposed to be, the style, workmanship, condition, and current popularity with the collecting public are far more significant factors--especially in determining the monetary value.
K.D.K.'s cherry secretary bookcase is exactly what it is supposed to be and that is a Victorian/Empire Transitional piece from the 1840 period. Every stylistic element about this example from the shape of its cornice to the configuration of its drawers says that this particular secretary fits into this category and time frame and could not have been made earlier.
There is very little question about the date, but the value is impacted very strongly by the condition. The replaced door is a serious matter, and the fact that this piece has been obviously refinished is also a deduction.
Looking at the photos, we also think this secretary may have been shortened not only because the feet look stubby but because the desk is out of proportion with the top bookcase. Part of this may be the angle of the photograph, but we do feel that the height of the piece has been lowered by several inches.
We also think that the drop pulls chosen as replacements are not appropriate to this piece. Originally, this secretary almost certainly had mushroom-shaped wooden knobs, and the early-18th-century-style brass drop pulls are a little jarring (at least to us).
Due to its condition, this circa 1840 secretary should be valued in the $2,000-$2,500 range for insurance purposes.
(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of Price It Yourself (HarperResource, $19.95). Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)
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