To Restore or Not—That is the Question

QUESTION:  Hi, my father, who is 93, has a chest his grandfather brought over from Sweden. I'm pretty sure its a Biedermeier. It has some wood damage, and the desk flap needs repair,. If we have it repaired, will it lessen the value? I have always loved it and don't have plans to sell it, but don't want to take away from its worth either. Can you help me?

ANSWER:  Yes, definitely get your Biedermeier secretary restored. For the most part, it’s in excellent condition. Restoring it will only increase its value. Unlike what experts say about antiques produced before 1830, those made after that can often benefit from restoration. In this case, just make sure you use the best restorer you can find. I can’t emphasize this enough. Your secretary is worth a lot of money and will appreciate even more. This is because a lot of Biedermeier pieces got damaged from dampness and such when the style went out of favor. Many sat in barns for years until the veneer literally fell off of them. So there aren’t very pieces that have survived.

So why are Biedermeier pieces so valuable? Next to the Bauhaus, the Biedermeier style movement had perhaps the most influence on modern styles to come. This Neoclassic style  originated in Germany in the early 19th century and played a major role in furniture design. It spread throughout Europe from 1815 to 1848.

The style’s name derived from Ludwig Eichrodt and Adolf Kussmaul, who depicted the typical bourgeois of the period under the name "Gottfried Biedermeier"—from "Gott" meaning "God," fried" meaning "peace," "Bieder" meaning "commonplace," and meier" meaning "steward"—in their Fliegende Blatter, a Viennese journal of the day. However, people didn’t call it Biedermeier until 1886, when Georg Hirth wrote a book about 19th-century interior design, and used the word "Biedermeier" to describe domestic German furniture of the 1820s and 1830s.

Biedermeier furniture suited the modest size and unostentatious needs of comfortable bourgeois houses. And the secretary was the most popular piece.

The less severe appearance of Biedermeier furniture led to a less formal arrangement of rooms as a whole. Flowers, screens, worktables and knick-knacks of all sorts helped to give a sense of family life. The bourgeoisie began to form a personal style, thus creating what’s now known as interior design, making Biedermeier one of the first design movements to reflect it.

People arranged suites of furniture in the corners of rooms. They created areas for eating, chatting, reading, and doing embroidery. Each had a sofa, table and chairs, and some sort of storage cabinet. Biedermeier comfort emphasized family life and private activities, especially letter writing—giving prominence to secretary desks. These featured a central niche, a mirror, and secret drawers.

Most Biedermeier furniture is extremely geometric in appearance. As the popularity of the style grew, some pieces took on new roles—the table became the family table, around which family members could site  for evening activities. Or table tops could be placed against the wall in a vertical position. A portable piano had a drawer for sewing things, while the upper drawer of a chest of drawers might be converted into a writing desk.










Prior to 1830, mahogany appeared in Viennese furniture and gradually replaced walnut. The adoption of this imported wood, which was often given a light finish, caused some craftsmen to apply matching stains and finishes to pieces made in walnut, pear wood, and Hungarian "watered" ash.

Attention to economy meant that local timber was mostly used, especially walnut veneers over a soft wood frame. Inlay served as the main decorative element, featuring the patterned graining of walnut and often reduced to a light-colored border. Sometimes, craftsmen used black poplar or bird's eye maple and colored woods such as cherry and pear became popular.

Cabinetmakers decorated their furniture with black or gold paint, and often employed less expensive stamped brass wreaths and festoons rather than bronze for decorative effect and gilded wooden stars instead of the elaborate metal ornaments of the Empire style. They designed furniture to be seen from the front and concentrated most of the decoration there.

With pieces of furniture as valuable as Biedermeier ones, it’s important to get them appraised by a certified antiques appraiser who specializes in European furniture. While getting an appraisal may appear costly, the cost is well worth it if the piece is damaged or sold. It’s also important to research former owners of the piece to create a provenance.

 To read more articles on antiques, please visit my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Victorians in the Winter 2018 Edition, "All Things Victorian," coming this week.

Seashells by the Seashore

QUESTION: Ever since I was a child playing in the sand at the seashore, I’ve loved seashells. I started collecting them and eventually began making shell crafts with them. I’ve seen antique shell-covered boxes at antique shows. How old are these boxes? And why are they decorated with shells?

ANSWER:  When you pick up a pretty shell on the beach or purchase a shell souvenir from a seaside gift shop, you’re following a tradition that goes back as far as the 16th century. A homemade sewing box decorated with shells gathered during an outing at the seashore evokes memories of a wonderful vacation.

Shells from the Far East were rare and expensive collectors' items as far back as the late 1590s. Archduke Ferdinand II devoted four rooms of his castle near Innsbruck, Austria, to shells, fossils, amber and mounted branches of coral. Soon, all over Europe, it was the fashion to decorate rooms with both common and exotic shells.

With the exploration of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the expansion of European trade, interest in sea shells as decorative items grew even stronger in the 17th century. Merchants imported large quantities of exotic shells into Europe, and shell collecting became a serious hobby. 

In the early 18th century shellwork became a popular pastime for upper-class women. They practiced all sorts of shellcraft, including making shell plaques and pictures. To help Georgian ladies with their shellwork, Mrs. Hannah Robertson published The Ladies School of Arts in 1806. In it she described various techniques of shellwork. When Victoria became Queen in 1837, the study of shells and their inhabitants became a popular subject in school. Teachers encouraged their students to take walks along  the seashore to study marine life which led to an increased interest in shell collecting and shellwork.

Ladies covered glove boxes, trinket boxes, work boxes, and musical boxes with shells. They used heavy pasteboard to construct the boxes, using patterns they found in books on shellcraft. Once they had the parts cut out, they lined them with absorbent cotton and covered them with velvet or silk, then they sewed the sides together with strong thread. They then pasted muslin over the seams and fastened the lids with strips of muslin attached with strong glue. The box makers then made a cushion which they attached  the top of the box with a glue and proceeded to cover it with shells. Those who didn’t want to make their own boxes could buy plain ones onto which they could attach their shells.

Many of the Victorian boxes contained mirrors inside the lid and had heart-shaped pincushions attached. Ladies often gave them as gifts and pasted sayings such as "Forget-me-not" and "To My Dear Mother." Some Victorian women glued on paper scraps and pictures cut out from magazines to enhance their designs.
   
To obtain shells for their projects, some ladies would gather them on trips to the seashore. Those who lived too far away from the sea could obtain them from sailors or purchase them from shell dealers.

After women gathered their shells, they soaked them in fresh water for a few hours. Some shells naturally possessed a fine polish and required no preparation for display. In many cases, however, when shells became dry, they lost their natural luster, which women restored by washing them with clear water into which a little glue had been dissolved. The most popular shell, the periwinkle, which lined almost every box, had to be specially treated. The natural, grayish outer scale had to be removed with acetic acid to reveal the pearly iridescence underneath.



After cleaning their shells, women had to sort them according to size and color. It was important to have large quantities of tiny "rice shells," and other small shells in order to fill in spaces. Ladies then laid out their shells to form a design. Roses and hearts were popular in the center of a design. Once they had their designs finalized, women dipped the ends of their shells in a mixture of white wax and glue which adhered them to the cotton batting or paper.

Shell work declined in popularity toward the end of the 19th century though it has never faded as a home pastime.

 To read more articles on antiques, please visit my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Victorians in the Winter 2018 Edition, "All Things Victorian," coming this week.

The Look of Beauty

QUESTION: I recently have become interested in possibly collecting ladies’ compacts. I see them at flea markets all the time and the prices are reasonable enough to fit my budget. Also, I live in an apartment, so their small size is a plus. But I don’t want to randomly begin collecting them without knowing a little about their background. What can you tell me about ladies’ compacts? Are they a good item to collect? Will I be able to find enough of them to make collecting them worthwhile?

ANSWER: They say good things come in small packages and ladies’ compacts are a good example. These little treasures not only represent a lost art but are also a connection to the past that’s still affordable.  With so many different types on the market, you’ll have no problem finding plenty in to fit your collecting budget.

For the sheltered few who may not know, compacts are devices women carry that help them pursue their quest for beauty. Many of the compacts are works of art themselves. They first appeared during in the early 1900s. In 1908, Sears, Roebuck & Co advertised a hinged, silver-plated case that sold for 19 cents, described as “small enough to carry in the pocketbook.” This small and round housing for face powder, puff, and mirror became known as a compact. By the 1920s, during the age of the flapper, the compact had become a fashion accessory. And right from the beginning there was lots of competition.

Manufacturers used metal because it was readily available, cheap to produce, and could be brushed, enameled, engraved, and painted. Sterling silver was extremely popular, as was brass, aluminum, gunmetal, nickel, and gilt bronze. Those made at the close of World War I featured shapes, patterns, and motifs that reflect the geometric style of what would become known as Art Deco.

The companies making compacts had intensive marketing campaigns, assuring women that they simply had to have a collection of compacts, not just for every occasion, but also to make a particular statement during each occasion. A Coty double compact advertisement urged women to "be lovely always”— morning, noon and night... and it is so exquisitely smart with its polished platinum tone that you will feel a subtle bit of pride in having it in your handbag.”

The ones most sought after by collectors, however, include those made by obscure companies such as Fisher, La Mode, F & B, R & G, FM Company, DFB Company and the makers of Italian silver vermeils.

Volupte, founded in 1920 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, made one of the most desirable designs —the Golden Gesture Hand, designed by Ruth Warner Mason for a special promotion of "Genuine Collector's Items." These compacts are also referred to as the "Praying Hands" or "Gay Nineties" compacts. The most desirable and costly ones feature either a black or white lace mitt and enhanced with a faux engagement ring, diamond bracelet, or with manicured fingernails or multiples of these enhancements. The hand compacts are about five inches long and can cost as much as $800 each.

These compacts are extremely fragile and dent easily. They’re relatively rare to find in anything but the plain gold version, which sells cheaply compared to the decorated ones. The latter are rare and even then, to get one in mint condition is like finding a needle in a haystack. Condition on these is very important with compacts, as with other collectibles. Dents and wear will lessen their value considerably. Beginners should always seek the unusual over the commonplace.

At one time, compacts were all similar in design. Collectors call these "flapjacks" because of their shape. They measure approximately 4½ to 5 inches and their size allowed a woman to see herself from her chin to the top of her hairdo. However, the cases of these large flapjacks often warp. If the mirror is intact and the case closes, collectors usually overlook any side gaps. The design and overall condition is the deciding factor when it comes to value.

Divine compacts, on the other hand, are small but often have fantastic designs. Many are souvenirs, depicting buildings, cities, landmarks, or world's fairs. Generally, prices for souvenir compacts are lower, but there are still some very stunning examples out there.

Guillouche compacts are highly collectible. The guillouche technique was an attempt to copy Faberge. By using colored foil stamped with appropriate patterns and topped with a clear plastic dome, the results were surprisingly effective. Not to be confused with cloisonné, guillouche enameling always has a translucent pattern. Faux guillouche is stamped on foil with a plastic top. Compact experts define genuine guillouche as machine-engraved decoration on metal, over which a translucent enamel is often applied.

Many companies marked their compacts on the powder cover or inside the powder well and on the puffs. Sterling compacts may have a word or number stamped into the tiny rims of the mirror or base. These marks are highly desirable by collectors. These can be identified by old catalog advertisements or simply by getting a feel for the quality of workmanship that particular company produced. However, even an unknown compact with no identifying features can still be a work of art and be of high value.

Before purchasing a vintage compact, the beginning collector judge the quality of construction, detail of artwork, and the type of base metal. Top quality items will always retain their value —an unmarked piece may have been produced by a small company that made excellent pieces and therefore there will be fewer of them, thus the price will be higher.

Collecting compacts should be fun. Part of the fun is in discovering unique pieces. It’s like finding a piece of history.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac.