# Old Chairs...........how to go about dating them correctly and how to repair them



## woodchic (Mar 17, 2009)

I got these chairs from a lady who had them stored for years and was tired of them hanging around. I thought they were awesome, even though they were in terrible shape. I still liked their looks. I have never really did any work like this before so if someone could give me some good advice on how to find the correct date around to when they were made and how to repair them to keep the integrity of their era….....I would very much appreciate it. I believe they were once gold guilded. I had a gentleman tell me they look to be from 1860=1920. Victorian. I can find no markings on them


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## doyoulikegumwood (Jun 21, 2007)

my best advice would be to get an aprazer to look them over you may be dealing with something here that may warrent having a conservator help you in the restoration of these chairs, i cant place my finger on the style thier not queen ann but a good book for this sort of thing is American Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Sofas and Beds by Marvin D. Schwartz. good luck


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## woodchic (Mar 17, 2009)

Thanks…....I will look the book up that you suggested.


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## boboswin (May 23, 2007)

The nearest look alike I can find in my old Miller's Antiques (2003) is a George III 
there are listed with a value of $3000.00 to $3500.00 . ( a pair)
I assume in better condition than yours but nevertheless worth getting an appraisal before attempting restoration.

Bob


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

<<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/GMman_2008/?action=view&current=item717a.jpg" target="_blank">/a>


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Those 3 Chairs are Louis XV


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## boboswin (May 23, 2007)

The legs are "federal" ?
The back splat is separate from the styles.?
There are just 2 chairs suggesting they were made for the hearth.

Bob


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## woodchic (Mar 17, 2009)

When I get ready to work on them I will take your advise Bob and get them appraised before I start.


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## woodchic (Mar 17, 2009)

Thanks for the photo's to compare them with GMan!


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

By watching The antiques road show they are worth more if you can find the close to exact material but you should not touch the wood part if you redo the wood part the price will go down unless you plan to keep them then the choise is yours….good luck I wish I would find something like that


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## rickf16 (Aug 5, 2008)

You may want to try and trace the history of these chairs. How did the lady you got them from come about them and if she moved with them, where did she come from. Looks like they have some intricate carvings. Just my two cents.


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## Elaine (Jun 24, 2008)

Oh Goodness! Don't I repeat loudly DO NOT get rid of the horse hair stuffing. It never wears out and helps date the piece. It's also very, very expensive to replace. If I'd a known that 30 years ago, I would have kept all the mane and tail hair from all the horses I combed out. It does not attract bugs, etc. Maybe replace with some more batting. Clean gently. Roy Underhill had a show with a gentleman who uses horse hair and batting awhile back. He said the horse hair keeps the seat form better than foam. I don't remember what he mixed in with the hair though. He had webbing, some type of burplap, then some batting, hair (mixed with something, maybe down?), more batting, muslin cover then the cloth. Maybe you could email Roy and find out or google it.


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## Alanl (Sep 4, 2007)

I'm a pretty contemporary wood guy, but I agree with what I've read here. Get the chairs appraised before you do anything with them. If you don't have a lot of experience in restoration, you could end up devaluing them. And it's not just the monetary part of it. Any restoration attempts should take into account the woods and glues used, age, etc. to make sure the repairs will hold.

Of course there's nothing like on the job training, so if you do enough research and ask enough questions, you might get the best of all worlds- a pair of really nice chairs worth a lot of money and a whole lot of satisfaction.

By the way, I'm known as wooddude on a couple of sites. Do you think we have a connection somewhere in the vast cosmos of wood geekdom? Maybe we were acorns together sometime in a past life.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

I think they are Louis XVI. They have most of the characteristics.


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