Miniature Relief Portraits in Stone

 

QUESTION: When I was very young, my mother would take me to visit my great grandmother. The first time I saw her she was wearing a beautiful pin with the picture of a lady carved on it. She later told me it was a cameo, given to her by her mother. She also had several others in different colors and designs. Needless to say, she has since passed, leaving her cameos to me. They are so beautiful but seem outdated by today’s standards. I may begin adding to the ones she gave me and would like to know more about their history and how I can tell how old they are. 

ANSWER: While cameos may not be in style today, they are nevertheless a great thing to collect. They span all periods from ancient to the early 20th century.

Cameos have been around since 15,000 B.C.E, appearing first as carvings on rocks to record significant events in ancient Egypt. 

During the reign of Alexander the Great in the 3rd century B.C.E., Greek and Roman cameos featured religious figures and mythological images. During the Greek Hellenistic era, women wore cameos to display their willingness to engage in intercourse. Quattrocento collectors, those from the 15th century Italian cultural and arts period, began distinguishing among the ancient cameos. 

Upper class women began wearing carved gemstones as a sign of wealth and prestige in the 18th century. Carvers soon realized they could use Plaster of Paris molds to recreate such gemstones as records of notable cameo collections. Scottish gem engraver and modeler James Tassie began using these molds recreate glass pastes that could pass as authentic, carved jewels.

Carvers realized just how easily they could replicate expensive jewels. They discovered Cornelian shells, which were soft, durable, and easy to carve. In the 19th century, England’s Queen Victoria popularized shelled cameos. As interest grew, Napoleon took a particular interest in them. He brought carvers to France from all over Europe to create cameo jewelry for both men and women. 

The Industrial Revolution produced an affluent middle class with plenty of money, and leisure time in which to spend it. Scores of Victorians broadened their horizons with travel, taking the Grand Tour of the European continent, and acquiring mementos and small gifts along the way to bring home for friends and loved ones. An essential stop on every Grand Tour was Italy.

A new type of cameo, made of petrified lava, also appeared in the 19th century. Colored lava extracted from an archaeological dig at Pompeii proved useful for highly detailed carvings. Women during this time were embarking on their Grand Tours, which were traditional trips were taken by wealthy young European men and women serving as an educational rite of passage. Women often purchased lava cameos as souvenirs of their travels, which established them as symbols of status and wealth.

But what exactly is a cameo? A cameo is a small piece of sculpture, often a profiled head in relief, on a stone or shell cut in one layer with another contrasting layer serving as the background. They could be made of any layered material capable of being carved so that the layers underneath were exposed. Over the centuries, cameos have been made of shell, stone, lava, gemstones, plastic and glass.

Cameos most commonly appear as portraits of women, although other popular subjects are men, groups, scenery, animals and flowers. Classic cameos, such as the ones Victorian women brought back to England, were made of shell and often depicted Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, recognizable by the various symbols placed in their hair or else-where in the portrait. An example of this was Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt, always depicted with a crescent moon in her hair, and sometimes carrying a quiver of arrows and a bow.

There are several ways to date a cameo. The first is its construction. A Victorian brooch. made before the invention of the locking pin clasp, has a simple "C" clasp, indicating it was made before 1900. Also, the pin shaft in a Victorian brooch extended out past the rim of the brooch and was visible when a woman wore one. 

The hair, clothing, and even the nose of the subject can also identify an older cameo. A Greco-Victorian cameo, while a short bob will appear on a cameo made during the early 20th century. Clothing styles change too, so looking at the subject's style of dress can help one date a cameo. And then there's the nose. During the Victorian era, the "Roman" or aquiline nose, a long nose with a straight bridge, was a sign of classic beauty. Later, society came to view a smaller, upturned nose as most attractive. 

The finest, most expensive cameos are those made from semi-precious stones. Agate is one of the most popular since it’s difficult to carve and requires significantly more skill to produce. 

The rareness of a cameo is a stronger determinant of its value than its age. For example, though the Roman Empire predated the Renaissance era, Collectors consider Renaissance cameos more valuable because there are fewer of them. The metal used can also give an indication of the age of a cameo. If the mounting is a pinchbeck—an alloy of copper and zinc resembling gold—it was likely made between the early 18th century and mid-19th century. Gold electroplating wasn’t patented until 1840, so all cameos that are plated were carved after this date.

The setting, or framing, is one of the most important determinants of age and value. Those that are remounted are considerably less valuable. The setting will be different depending on the era from which it was produced. For example, Victorian cameos often feature confined, simple frames as opposed to the jeweled, pearled versions that followed decades later.

Collectors today look for skillful hand-carving, exquisite detail and interesting subjects. Also, a cameo should be judged on the content and quality of the setting, its size and, most importantly, its condition. It's a good idea to hold a cameo up to the light to look for stress lines and cracks, before purchasing. Details such as the creative use of the coloring of the shell or stone, and the adornment of the subject with jewels or other accessories will also increase the desirability, and therefore the price, of a cameo.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The  Vernacular Style" in the 2024 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Inside Out

 

QUESTION: While browsing a recent antique show, I discovered a delightful little copper box with what looked like an embossed design. The dealer told me it was probably made around the turn of the 20th century or at least before World War I. She said the design was repoussé on copper. I’d like to know more about this repousse technique. Can you give me a bit of history and an explanation of how it’s done?

ANSWER: There are two techniques for hammering copper—chasing and repousse. The difference between the two is that chasing pushes the metal in from the front side while repousse pushes the metal out from the backside.  Both techniques frequently employ a backing to support the work material and confine the movement of the metal to the immediate area around the tool.

While the word repoussé comes from the French word repoussage, meaning "pushed up," the word chasing, which also derives from the French word chasser, meaning ”to drive out.” Repousse is a metalworking technique in which an artisan shaped a malleable metal by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the front side, sinking the metal. The two techniques are often used in conjunction. Many metals can be used for chasing and repoussé work, including gold, silver, copper, and alloys such as steel, bronze, and pewter. Tool marks are often intentionally left visible.

With the simplest technique, sheet gold could be pressed into designs carved in intaglio in stone, bone, metal or even materials such as jet. The gold could be worked into the designs with wood tools or, more commonly, by hammering a wax or lead "force" over it.

Both techniques date from antiquity and have been used widely with gold and silver for fine detailed work, such as the burial mask of King Tutankhamun, and copper, tin, and bronze for larger sculptures, such as the Statue of Liberty. Both methods require only the simplest tools and materials, and yet allow great diversity of expression. They’re also more affordable, since there’s no loss or waste of metal, which mostly retains its original size and thickness.

Before the use of repousse, ancient artisans pressed gold sheet into a die to work it over a design in cameo relief. Here the detail would be greater on the back of the final design, so some final chasing from the front was often carried out to sharpen the detail.

In 1400 BCE, ancient Egyptians used resin and mud as a softer backing for repoussé. The use of patterned punches dates back to the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE  Craftsman made the simplest patterned punches using loops or scrolls of wire.

By 400 BCE., the ancient Greeks had begun using a combination of punches and dies on a beeswax backing to produce repousse on their bronze armor plates.

The resurgence of repousse and chasing first occurred in England during the late 19th century as part of the British Arts & Crafts Movement. Most notably was the work produced at the Keswick School of Industrial Arts, founded in 1884 by Canon Hardwicke and his wife, Edith Rawnsley, as an evening class in woodwork and repoussé metalwork at the Crosthwaite Parish Rooms, in Keswick, Cumbria. Hardwicke designed the curriculum to alleviate unemployment. The school  prospered, and within 10 years more than 100 men had attended classes. 

The school prospered and swiftly developed a reputation for high quality copper and silver decorative metalwork. By 1888 nearly 70 men were attending the classes. By 1890 the school was exhibiting nationally and winning prizes; Its students numbering over 100,  it had outgrown its cramped home in the parish rooms, forcing Rawnsley to raise funds for a purpose-built school nearby.

The Newlyn Industrial Class, later renamed the Newlyn Art Metal Industry, established in 1890 by John D. Mackensie, was similar to Keswick and shared a common purpose with it. Inspired by the teachings of John Ruskin, they aimed to provide a source of employment in small communities where work came and went with the seasons. At the Newlyn classes, held in a net loft above a fish-curing yard, the pupils were mainly fishermen, while at Keswick students were pencil makers, laborers, gardeners, shepherds, and tailors.

Both metal workshops specialized in the production of repoussé copper work, This technique and material was popular with amateur craftsmen and women across the country because it was easy to learn. A student placed a flat piece of copper face down on a bed of pitch, or, as in the Newlyn workshops, lead. These materials were chosen because they would yield to the force of the blows of the punch but would still support the metal. Once a student had punched the design out from the reverse, he or she turned the metal over and chased finer details on the front.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Age of Photography" in the 2023 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Aroma of Beauty

 

QUESTIONS: I’ve always loved the look and variety of antique perfume bottles. Since most of these are small, they’re often overlooked in the cases of smalls at flea markets and antique shows. It takes determination to seek them out. I’d love to know more about the history of perfumes, as well as some history about perfume containers.

ANSWERS: The Egyptians were the first to use perfume, but not for personal, everyday use.  They utilized scents to celebrate prayers and religious ceremony by burning essential oils, resin, and perfumed unguents.

Early civilizations used perfumes—usually aromatic resins and oils, burned to release an aroma—to scent the air. The Latin term “per fumum” means “through smoke” which is where the name ‘Perfume’ came from. 

In ancient Greece, common people began using perfumes as part of their daily hygiene. The ancient Egyptians traded spices, aromas, and resins abundant in Egypt, as well as those  imported from the Middle East, Arabia and India. Myrrh and incense made up some of the main ingredients of the scents of the time.

For much of recorded history, perfumes were only available to aristocrats and the wealthy. By the late 18th century, perfumes were in common use among the upper classes, and it didn’t take long to become de rigueur for the fashionable set, both male and female. In 1856, Harper’s Monthly railed against overuse of scents by men, calling the practice "foppish, effeminate, a waste of money, and a foolish gratification of sensual appetite."

After the Civil War, a variety of cheap perfumes came on the market. Such labels as Little Tot, American Girl, Boudoir, Bridal Bouquet, Duchess Ladies, Sensible, Home Sweet Home, Bow Wow, and Happy Family were common. By far the most popular, however, was the Hoyt's 5-Center, sold over general store counters everywhere. Hoyt's became the great odor of the common man. Like most other cheap brands it had a faint aroma of rose and honeysuckle. And while lavender and violet were popular with upper class women.

Queen Victoria’s preference was for simple, fresh and understated fragrances. Following Victoria’s lead, English women began wearing delicate scents such as lavender, jasmine, bergamot and lemon. Violet became particularly popular, as well as herbaceous notes of thyme, clove and rosemary. 

Besides flowers, aromatic woods, odorous spices, grasses and herbs, animal substances were primary ingredients of perfumes. Ambergris was a secretion of the sperm whale that net only mellowed other scents but gave them greater longevity. The most lasting of odors came from the musk deer of China and Tibet. One part of musk was said to scent over 3,000 parts of "inodorous powder" with an intoxicating aroma that impregnated any surface with which it came in contact. 

Given the nature of perfume, from the confidence it gives its wearer to the indescribable effect it sometimes has on its very targeted audience, it’s not surprising that perfume has long been kept in bottles whose shapes seem to echo the mysterious properties of the fluids inside them. Whether it’s a slender phial, a tiny tear-shaped lachrymatory, or a round, flat-sided ampullae, perfume bottles are designed to contain magic, which is only unleashed when a woman opens the bottle and applies a drop or two of the precious liquid to her body.

The earliest examples of perfume bottles come from Ancient Egypt, initially crafted from clay or wood. As the popularity of perfume spread across cultures, artisans created more ornate designs. The Romans hollowed out precious stones or blew magnificent glass bottles to hold their fragrances, while the ancient Greeks used terracotta sculpted into animal forms and shells. By the late 18th century, perfume containers came in a variety of materials, such as porcelain, silver, copper and white glass in various shapes influenced by artistic movements of the time. Enamel became popular as a base to hand-paint detailed pastoral scenes. 

As luscious as perfume smells, so were the shapes and designs of the bottles that contained it. Some were small enough for a woman to wear on a chain around her neck, in which case, the bottle became a piece of jewelry. Glassblowers in Britain, Bohemia, Germany, and France made perfume bottles throughout the 19th century. U.S. glass manufacturers such as the New England Glass Company and the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company also made perfume bottles during that time. Some of these were hexagonal and opaque—white, blue, and green were common colors—with knobby, pineapple-shaped stoppers.

Fashionable Victorian women revived the use of the vinaigrette filled with a variety of delightfully sniffable scents. They also developed a preference for French labels on their dressing table bottles. The allure and snob appeal of French fragrances swept the perfume industry until even the down-to-earth Sears & Roebuck catalog succumbed with terms such as parfums, odeurs , and flacons. A typical 1905 ad offered: "Our Special Violette France Perfume, put up in magnificent 2-ounce cut glass stoppered bottle, for only 60 cents.”

Beginning around 1890, artisans and glass factories alike produced elaborate cut or blown glass perfume bottles with ornate caps, some of which had hinged silver stoppers and collars. Purse-sized conical bottles with very short necks and round stoppers were often decorated with gilt flower-and-leaf patterns.  

The world of perfumes was then and is today one of mystery and magic. And the containers that house them are highly collectible. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the "Antiques of Christmas" in the 2021 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Pandora Loved Her Box

QUESTION: I love old boxes and want to start a box collection. But where do I begin? What sort of boxes are highly collectible?

ANSWER: Collecting old boxes is a great introduction into collecting antiques. Boxes are small enough so as not to take up too much room, yet intriguing enough to keep you interested as your collection grows.

Legend says that when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus, the king of the gods, took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. Pandora opened a box left in her care containing sickness, death and many other unspecified evils which were then released into the world. And so antique boxes offer mysteries as to the contents they once held.

Boxes are popular with collectors. The shape of a box reveals clues as to what it once held while the quality and type of workmanship are a key to the type of individual that owned and used it. And when you life the lid of an antique box, you’ll smell exotic aromas of times gone by—the scent of peppery clove, the fruity wood smell of tobacco, the delicate odor of beeswax or bayberry.

With the passing of time, the styles and functions of boxes have changed . Early settlers used rustic wooden and tin boxes to hold necessities like salt, flour, and candles. Colonials in Ben Franklin's day toted their snuff in convenient pocket-size boxes, the elaborateness of which indicated a gentleman's social standing. Elegant Victorian ladies who indulged in the luxury of lace gloves and cloth beauty patches kept them in ornate silk- and velvet-covered boxes. Today,  boxes like these bring a bit of history to any room and can be used to hold keepsakes or simply enjoyed for their own unique charms. So you want to start a box collection? What’s involved?



Before you buy any antique box, research it carefully. If you're looking for boxes made in the late 19th century, for example, read books on the subject, view historical displays of that period in museums, and browse antique shops and shows.  Once you decide on the type of boxes you want to collect, go to auctions, estate sales, and quality flea markets to see what's available.

Once you begin finding boxes to add to your collection , select on the best ones and avoid those that show more than normal wear. Bypass wooden boxes with warped veneers, cracks, and damaged hinges. Check porcelain, pottery, and glass boxes for chips and cracks, and avoid metal boxes that have bad dents. Always buy the best your budget will allow. Quality boxes do appreciate in value with time. Plan to keep any box you purchase at least 10 years to realize this appreciation.

Box collectors particularly favor those handmade by American craftsmen in the 19th century. Many of these are rustic and were designed to hold everyday possessions, such as salt and seasonings or grooming aids. The contents of a box usually determined its shape. A box made for a three-cornered hat, for instance, was triangular, while a candle box was long and narrow. Craftsmen decorated some boxes with carving or delicate hand-painted designs while they left others plain.

Brightly colored boxes made by Pennsylvania Germans, and boxes with finger-style joinings made by Shakers are excellent examples of folk art, and command high prices today. Fortunately, most antique shops and shows have many other types of primitive boxes at reasonable prices.

Boxes made during the early 20th century are also gaining popularity with collectors. Victorian women used some of the most common ones, made of cardboard covered with silk, velvet, paper, or shells, to store gloves, handkerchiefs, sewing items, and trinkets. You’ll find these boxes for $15-20 and up. Other early 20th-century examples include assorted sizes of Japanese lacquered  boxes, selling for $20 or more, small brass Oriental ones with metal appliques, and porcelain "fairing boxes," originally sold at English country fairs. You’ll usually find these “fairings” in antiques shops or at shows, starting at around $125.

Collecting boxes can be addictive because there are so many different kinds out there. The more focused your collection is, the better.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  La Belle Epoque in the 2020 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Up and Down and Around the World

QUESTION: I used to love playing with yo-yos as a kid. In fact, I was quite good at it. Recently, while rummaging through some boxes in my attic, I came across my favorite yo-yos. At the time in the late 1950s, I thought they had just been invented, but saw a kid playing with one in a period drama on Netflix. Can you tell me when and how these neat little toys came to be? Are they collectible today?

ANSWER:  A yo-yo in its simplest form is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, similar to a slender spool, with a length of string looped around the axle. To play with it, a person creates a slip knot into which he or she inserts one finger, allowing gravity or the force of a throw to spin the yo-yo and unwind the string, then allowing the yo-yo to wind itself back to the hand. This process is known as  "yo-yoing" and first became popular in the 1920s. But the yo-yo goes back a lot further in history.

Although first recorded on ancient vases from early Greece showing boys playing with thin disks on a string, the invention of the yo-yo probably first occurred in China. The first yo-yos probably consisted of two painted terracotta clay disks, followed by ones made of wood, then metal. But once the yo-yo became commonplace, its popularity spread. By the mid 18th century, its use had spread to India where a handpainted miniature box depicts a young girl playing with a yo-yo. Over the next 25 years, yo-yos made of glass and ivory appeared in all over Europe and the Orient.

During the French Revolution, people used yo-yos to relieve stress—they had to do something while waiting for the next head to fall. They also became fashionable toys, called l'emigrette—a French word that referred to leaving the country---for the nobility. A painting of future King Louis XVII displayed in 1789 depicted the four-year-old palming his l'emigrette. Sketches of soldiers made during the 1780s, including General Lafayette and his troops, show the men tossing their yo-yos. As yo-yo usage gained in popularity throughout France in the late 18th century, the toy became known as the joujou de Normandie, or toy of Normandy, which some believe to be the origin for the modern American name of "yo-yo."

The yo-yo earned the title "Prince of Wales" toy in 1791 when a picture appeared of the future George IV twirling a bandalore as the English called it. Legend says that during the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, Napoleon and his troops used their yo-yos to "unwind" before battle.

But it wasn’t until 1866 that the yo-yo reached the United States after two Ohio men applied for a patent for their invention which they called "an improved bandalore." Their  improvement was a weighted rim.

An article published in the Scientific American Supplement in 1916, entitled “Filipino Toys,” included a picture of what it called a yo-yo, a word some people defined as Filipino for "to return"or "spring."

Pedro Flores, a Filipino immigrant, introduced the Filipino yo-yo to the United States in the 1920s. He established the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California in 1928. Flores’ yo-yos had a unique feature. His workers hand-carved his yo-yos from one piece of wood. They were the first such toy that could spin or "sleep" because the string looped around the axle. Players could not only make this forerunner to the modern yo-yo go up and down, but they could also perform endless tricks. Flores began making a dozen handmade toys, but by November 1929, he had two additional factories in operation, one in Los Angeles and one in Hollywood, which together employed 600 workers and produced 300,000 units daily.

One day, Donald F. Duncan Sr., an American businessman, watched Flores perform his tricks in San Francisco. Eyeing the large group of people watching Flores' demonstration, Duncan realized the possibilities of this toy. In1929, he bought the rights to Flores’ yo-yo, patented the name "yo-yo," and promoted it in the United States. Duncan hired 42 demonstrators— one of whom was Pedro Flores—to teach and demonstrate yo-yo feats and hold contests as a means of increasing sales throughout the country and in Western Europe.

In 1946, Duncan relocated his company in Luck, Wisconsin. The company produced  3,600 yo-yos each hour. Four years later, Duncan introduced the Electric Lighted yo-yo, marking the first such toy to light up. During the late 1950s, Duncan released the Butterfly model yo-yo, a high-tech design that made it much easier to land on the string while executing complex tricks. Plastic yo-yos soon followed in 1960. In 1962, the company sold a record 45 million yo-yos.

An expensive lawsuit to protect the yo-yo trademark from competitors forced the Duncan family out of businesses in Nov. 1965. Flamboyant Products, manufacturer of Duncan’s plastic models, bought the company and still owns it today. The yo-yo’s popularity hasn’t waned.

The yo-yo holds the honor of being the first toy in space when astronauts put it through its paces in 1985 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. They discovered that gravity is needed to play with a yo-yo.

Leave it to the Romans

QUESTION: My father has been trying to find out information about an old wooden armchair that he has that bears a label that reads “Hartwig &Kemper, Baltimore.” He could use some assistance on what it exactly is and the manufacturer. Could you possibly give us some information about this chair?

ANSWER: Your chair is what’s known as a Roman chair and dates from around 1870 to 1880. It’s done in the Victorian Neoclassical Revival style, a substyle of Renaissance Revival. But the origins of this chair go far back in time.

It’s ancient ancestor was the curule chair or sella curulis, from the Latin currus, meaning chariot. In the Roman Empire, only the highest government dignitaries, from the Emperor on down, were entitled to sit on it. It began as a folding campstool with curved legs. Ordinarily made of ivory, with or without arms, it became a seat of judgment. Subsequently it became a sign of office of all higher “curule” magistrates, or officials. According to Livy the curule seat, like the Roman toga, originated in Etruria.

Although often of luxurious construction, the curule chair was meant to be uncomfortable to sit on for long periods, since the Roman public expected their officials to carry out their duties in an efficient and timely manner. Also, its uncomfortability showed that the office held by the magistrate was only temporary, so he shouldn’t get too comfortable.

During the 15th century, both the Italians and the Spanish made chairs with cross-framed legs, joined by wooden stretchers that rested on the floor. A wooden back made the chair more rigid. Dealers in antiquities in the 19th-century called them "Savonarola Chairs." 

By the 1860s, the original curule chair form changed once again. Although some chair makers continued to use the cross-legged design, others modified it so that the legs splayed outward from a rectangular seat while the back had upright spindles and low-relief carving.

Hartwig & Kemper was a well-known furniture manufacturing company in Baltimore, with an office and salesroom at 316-318 W. Pratt Street and a factory at 309-331 W. King Street. The company also had numerous warehouses in the city and stocked a wide variety of furniture, especially chairs and tables, most of which they made of golden oak. Their 1904-05 catalog featured over 300 different pieces of furniture, mostly chairs, settees, couches, and tables. But they were mostly known for their chairs, which they produced in every style and type imaginable.

Your chair, however, was an earlier model made of tiger oak, a variation of golden oak that was dark-stained to look like mahogany. It features the stylized heads of two lions, with their mouths wide open to facilitate lifting the chair, on the top of the back. Your chair is called an elbow chair, presumably because a person could rest their elbows on the arms.

Furniture manufacturers like Hartwig and Kemper interpreted the prevailing furniture styles following the Civil War in homely, machine-made versions as well as more luxurious models.

Victorian furniture offered a mix of styles, almost all revivals of former styles. The Renaissance Revival style, one of four major Victorian revival styles, included such substyles as neoclassic Roman and Greek Revival. The word Renaissance in this case covered just about everything. The result was a stylized mix of many ancient and classic styles.

The end of the Civil War saw an immense trade in relatively inexpensive furniture to meet the demand of the market. Steam-powered machines simplified the manufacture of inexpensive furniture for the mass market. Furniture produced had simple lines, relatively flat surfaces, and a minimum of detailed carving.

Although factories in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania produced the greatest amount of furniture of all types. All made stock-in-trade furniture for the mass market. Golden or “antique” oak was the wood of choice. Some furniture companies just made chairs—straight-back chairs, dining chairs, rocking chairs.

Equipment they used was efficient enough that one reviewer said they could almost throw whole trees into the hopper and grind out chairs ready for use. However, early machines didn’t do such a great job with the finishing work. Any chairs with even a little carving had to be hand finished, a job entrusted to craftsmen brought from Europe. Sometimes, factory owners would use women and children to cover chair seats for very low wages.

The buying public at the time seriously considered price as well as style and comfort. By the end of the 1860s, Hartwig and Kemper were turning out large quantities of furniture, especially chairs.