There are three sideboards in existence known to be by Pittsburgh cabinetmakers. Undoubtedly there are more out there waiting to be discovered. One is seen in this short video. Although you can't see them in the video, this sideboard has two carved panels that sat on either side of the mirror. This carving is present on each of the three sideboards. The cabinetmakers of which are William Alexander, Henry Beares and Benjamin Montgomery. The similarities in the carved panels, especially in the Alexander and Beares sideboards are striking, so much so that during an initial inspection it can easily be concluded that the pieces came from the same shop. Another more likely possibility (since the sideboards are signed) is that a talented carver worked for a number of shops. That carver could have been Joseph Woodwell.

This particular sideboard is not known to have a signature. Unlike the other examples, this one contains some egyptian revival details including the feet and black marble in the center. It is also of an unusually large size.

The Henry Beares sideboard is on view at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The William Alexander sideboard can be see in Wendy Cooper's Book, Classical Taste in America.

The last time I was in the Metropolitan Museum of Art the Wrightsman Galleries was closed. One could glance in to the collection of mostly French Period rooms, but not enter. The history of the French Period Room in the United States dates back to the Gilded age that also saw the construction of large Boulevards in Paris.

“The Past Present and Future of the Period Room, a symposium in honor of the reopening of the Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts,” was held at the Met February 15 and I took the opportunity to attend.

The idea of the period room offers a unique potential, only surpassed by the house museum, to see decorative arts items in their intended context. At the time many of the period rooms in the Wrightsman Galleries were brought to the United States, all things French was highly sought after as the most advanced form of decoration and popular with dealers and decorators including Duveen and Allard and patrons including Morgan and Vanderbilt.

Its worth noting that many of the period rooms did not come to the U.S. destined for museums. The were instead installed into large New York town homes and estates in places like Newport, Rhode Island. The rooms were often bought and sold several times before ending up in their for all intents and purposes permanent homes in the Met. One even ended up in a Jerry Lewis movie after being sold to 20th Century Fox.

The symposium included a variety of lectures on subjects such as chandeliers, preservation, patrons and paneling. Most importantly, it provided an opportunity to revisit the rooms with the information gained from the symposium in mind.

Some of my favorites include the Bordeaux room once in French Neo-Classical home at 9 East 71st Street. My very favorite in the Wightsman Galleries however is not French at all, but the Dining Room from Lansdowne House designed by Robert Adam.

The Met also has a unparalleled collection of American Period Rooms, some of which are not currently on view. Another great place to see Period Rooms is the Brooklyn Museum.

I’m curious how prevalent the idea of a period room is in the homes of today’s elite. I would think that while artifacts are sometimes installed, the idea of a period room in a private residence is not common. I’d be interested in hearing stories to the contrary.

The earliest homes in Pittsburgh that still stand date to around 1830. Since demolished from this period was “Picnic House” built around 1835 by William Croghan and Mary Croghan Schenley, the granddaughter of James O’Hara. The ballroom from Picnic House is now in the Cathederal of Learning.

Several pieces of furniture exist from the house including a chair at the Heinz History Center and a recamier at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The Carnegie also has a matching recamier and nine other chairs. The pieces have not been identified as being produced in Pittsburgh, and while convention would suggest they came from New York, it was at least technically possible furniture of this quality could have been produced in Pittsburgh.

Our first evidence is a Pittsburgh Cabinetmakers Style guide from 1830 that shows furniture with charateristics of that being produced both in New York and Philadelphia. A copy of the guide is at the Winterthur Library.

It would of course take a skilled painter to create the designs on the furniture from Picnic. There is evidence there were a number of skilled painters skilled at ornamentation, portraits and signage in Pittsburgh at that time.

Most notable of the painters in Charles Lambdin who adverised in 1824 as having been trained by Thomas Sully. A painter named J. Cook advertised himself as a portrait painter as early as 1811. Also in 1811, J. T. Turner advertised all sorts of painting and even lessons. Most notably Turner reports that he was lately of New York. Joseph Jenkins advertised his services as a portrait painter in 1824 and R. B. Harris advertised himself as an ornamental painter in the 1830s. I have no evidence to show that portrait painters like Lambdin ventured into painting ornamentation on furniture, but technically they would likely have the necessary skill and we know other painters, such as Edward Hicks, painted decoration on carriages. Painting then was often seen more as a skilled craft, like cabinetmaking, than a fine art.

The other feature on the furniture from Picnic is gilt and “gilt bronze” as it is referred to in literature at the Carnegie. However, Wendy Cooper in her book "Classical Taste in America" referring to the chair refers to Egyptian ornaments as “cast brass.” I learned recently that what is called "gilt bronze" is usually brass, in chandeliers anyway, so that may be the case here. Inspection of the chaise lounge at Carnegie does appear to have gilt. There were a number of foundaries in Pittsburgh early on, as well as silversmiths and other craftsman who might have been able to produce these ornaments on demand. They could also have easily been imported from Boston or England.

The structure is maple, grain painted to look like Rosewood.

The Carnegie Museum of Art has on display two pieces of furniture that give us some insight into furniture making in Western Pennsylvania. The first is a tall case clock made by Thomas Hutchinson. The face of the clock bears his name and is labled Washington, Pa. The case features many elements known to be hallmarks of Western Pennsylvania furniture including a vine and leaf inlay design.

The earlier furniture such as the case clock seems to be better chonicled that later furniture, made after 1830. The Carnegie also features a sideboard labled as being made by Henry Beares. The sideboard has many features of a Philadelphia piece, although it does seem to have more mass than comparable Philadelphia furniture.

One has to assume it would not be unique. The book Pittsburgh's Commercial Development shows furniture being shipped both to and from Pittsburgh as early as 1835 (the earliest year the book covers. Newspaper ads feature other companies making furniture in Pittsburgh and Allegheny in the 1830s, including the Allegheny Chair at the corner of Ohio Street and "the Diamond" in Allegheny.

Both examples in the Carnegie serve to show that the quality of cabinet making in Pittsburgh from the late Eighteenth Century through the 1830s was fairly sophisticated and even somewhat comperable to what was being made in the East.

A couple updates on furniture-making in Pennsylvania. First, my friend loaned me a booklet published in 1982 from the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Apparently there was an exhibit at the former facility in Oakland. The book covers clocks, chests, slant-front desks, glassware and silver. The book was reprinted in 2001, but I couldn't find a copy available online. The research does not provide insight into what was made in Western Pennsylvania after 1820.

Yesterday I also had the opportunity to visit Neshannock Woods, a cabinetmaker and antique dealer near Grove City. A period workshop provides insight into how furniture was once made. There are also some period Western Pennsylvania pieces available for purchase including an 1837 empire chest with origins in Washington, Pa.

You can visit them online at Neshannock Woods

While furniture made in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and New York has been well documented, furniture made in cities like Pittsburgh remains to be fully discovered.

When the city and environs began to be settled in the late eighteenth century it was difficult to transport furniture from East-Coast cities. It would seem much of what was used in Pittsburgh, Washington and Greensburg at that time might have been made here.

A review of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 1800 onward shows advertisements for cabinetmakers starting around 1811. By 1840 there were at least seven cabinetmakers and a number of companies including the Allegheny Chair Company on Ohio Street at the Diamond. By 1835, the book Pittsburgh’s Commercial development shows furniture being both imported and exported from Pittsburgh. Before 1811 there are quite a few advertisements from merchants in Philadelphia and Baltimore advertising wares.

There are documented pieces from Western Pennsylvania before 1800, but the extent of refined furniture manufacturing in Pittsburgh at that time remains largely unknown (at least to this author).

The early pieces that are known range from simple to sophisticated, from plain walnut to fine inlay featuring vines and leaves.

What were the influences? Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York? How much of the style is home-grown? How can Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania furniture be identified? Who were the cabinetmakers before 1800? What did the products made by the companies advertising after 1811 look like? These are questions I’d like to attempt to answer.

If you have any insight, please contact me.

Antique dealers come and go. Under normal conditions, it is not surprising to see big red “For Sale” sign in front of some small antique shops. But recently, the antique business, at least at the low end, has seen a quick downfall as some big antique malls have been shuttered locally and elsewhere.

Why has antique become so hard to sell? Here are some of my theories.

1. eBay

The efficiency and volume of the eBay marketplace has changed antique business fundamentally. No where else can one find items from affordable to high quality so easily.

In particular, antique business has lost a selling point when uniqueness fades away from a single search click. Things that seem rare in the stores may surprise you with their abundance online. To make things worse, the varied prices makes one wonder what the true value is.

2. Downsizing trend

The pace of life has accelerated and Americans are moving constantly. The change in the life style makes disposability and affordability more important than ever. Downsizing of living space is happening not only for young generations, but also for boomers who are gradually retiring. Collecting is inevitably affected.

3. Changes in antique style

Collecting is almost an instinct, sometimes an impulse. The driving force of antiques collecting is sometimes a memory of the past that people associate or treasure. The collective memory of today doesn't stretch back much beyond the 1920s, an era when mass-production came into its full being. Beyond 1920, affordable design was more important than uniquely crafted objects by an artisan. Collecting works before this period requires substantial research and education before the buying process, which is also quite different, can begin. Unfortunately in 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s American has entered the era of mass production and the craftsmanship associated with jewelry names is hard to find; thus antique business of that period can be equally hard.

4. Declination in quality

The co-op feature of antique malls eventually hurts dealers. From economics point of view, it is a “common” where regulation is missing. Dealers know that if everyone brings lots of collectible and reproduction, the mall won’t work; but if only I (one dealer) do that, it won’t hurt when you average the damage of impression by 100-or-so dealers. There are no incentives to strive for excellence.

5. Accessibility of Auctions

Once upon a time, auctions were primarily for dealers. Now, through the Internet, anyone can buy at auction.

6. Decline of the Antique Dealer

A move from Main Street to the antique mall has meant that the antique dealer, whose function was not just to sell antiques, but to educate the buyer, has become absent from the process. Uninformed buyers have sometimes mis-spent their time, money and energy collecting somethings that weren't quite what they hoped they were.

Overall, in the long run the antique business may endure some tough period. No matter what period or what style, there are always some people who shop for the top quality. But the success of most of antique business relies on the majority shopping of the medium range. The young generation, growing up with Xbox and iPOD, think and behave and shop differently. With the overwhelming information from youtube to online chatting, it is rare to find time to study the past style which defines what they are not.

Changes in fashions do swing with the pendulum. But antiques, a visible form of the past, never goes right back to where it was.

I hadn’t known what a Fraktur was until I attended a lecture at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa last evening. I had seen Frakturs before—a decorated document created by German settlers named for the “fractured” lettering. The exhibit is well-thought out and displayed first by region, then by chronology. The Frakturs are displayed with two Pennsylvania clocks, both which contain symbolic inlay also found in many Frakturs.

Also on display is a collection of painted Pennsylvania furniture, much of which was made outside of Johnstown, PA in a place called Soap Hollow. Apparently the most identifiable mark on Soap Hollow furniture (besides the name of the maker painted squarely on the front) is the wave-fold backsplash. In all honesty Frakturs and painted furniture would not be the first thing to catch my eye at an antique show, but I left with a new found appreciation for the furniture. Remarkably some three hundred documented pieces of Soap Hollow furniture exist today, one chest which brought $115,000 at Garth’s auction recently. Impressive at a time when a sophisticated Empire sideboard might not fetch $2,000 at auction.

The painted furniture, like the Frakturs may not be sophisticated or have been created by well-trained artisans. It does have a certain direct connection to the people who made and owned it, however and that then gives it a more direct line into the past. There’s quite a bit to learn from it, stories about the owners, the occasion for its making and its makers. There must have been a couple hundred people from several states who came for the lecture at the Westmoreland, and I think perhaps these are the qualities of Pennsylvania folk art that make it so attractive.

The collector who gave the lecture on the Frakturs explained that after buying his first at an auction, a few hammers later a Fraktur for the sister came up and so on until we arrived last night at the Westmoreland show. How could you not want to keep the family together?

There are some other upcoming events regarding Pennsylvania Folk Art at the museum. Click the link in the right menu bar and check 'em out.

1. Made in Pennsylvania Gallery Tour: Furniture & Fraktur

When: 7PM, Thursday July 19, 2007
Where: Westmoreland Museum of Art
Price: Free (though donation is usually needed for admission)
Who: Charles Muller and David Brocklebank


2.William Bouguereau—The Perfect Painter

When: Aug 22, 2007 7:00 PM
Where: Frick Art &Historic Center
Price: $8 for students
Who: Eric Zafran, Ph.D.

Antique collecting is not as easy as going to a furniture store and picking out a new sofa. While many will purchase old furniture because they need one thing or another, others look for old furniture that has some value beyond its functionality.

If you’re looking at furniture for these purposes, chances are that you can be identified as an antique collector. If not, you certainly have the potential to be.

If you know you like furniture for more than its functionality, you may still be confronted with what exactly to collect. Visiting one of the antique malls may seem to be a good place to start. In reality for the beginner a large antique mall may be the worst place to start. By U.S. Custom law definition an antique must be at least a century old. There may be some items that can meet this criteria in an antique mall, but its mixed with things not half as old.

If you like to look at antiques like art, you might also want to concentrate on furniture and other items made by a craftsman rather than those produced in a factory. That even becomes more difficult as the first piece of furniture to leave a factory in the United States did so more than a century ago. Beyond its design, much of the furniture even from Victorian times was factory made. Beyond its design it can’t be far admired for the art that went into its making.

If you are one who admires old furniture, it may be because you live in an old house. It’s easy to like an old house. You can find lots of people living in old houses, yet inside there are plain white walls and furniture from a department store. Old houses are even more fun and interesting with old furniture in them. You may want to find antiques that are appropriate to the time period when the house was built. If this is your motivation for collecting antiques, it may matter less whether or not they were individually crafted for factory produced. Still, before you go shopping and make a big purchase you could later regret, you’ll want to get a better idea of what style of furniture would have been in the house when it was new.

It’s not my personal intention to strictly adhere to a period décor, however. I enjoy antiques more for their artistic value and would miss the soft cushions as soon as I traded a modern sofa for an antique one. While some collectors like to have a home furnished almost entirely in period antiques, its people like me who lead some antiques to being less valuable. One of the main contributors to the value of an antique is whether or not it has a modern purpose. An antique instrument or chair potty or in some instances seating furniture and bedding is not going to be in as much demand as a sideboard, table or bookcase.

Some collectors look at antiques from an investment standpoint. The way I see it if you buy something at a department store, its value can greatly diminished as soon as it leaves the store. If you carefully buy an antique, the chances are good it will keep its value or increase in value. Of course that’s not always the case as the market for certain styles of antiques fluctuates similar to the art market. I should also mention that some things you might bring home from an antique mall may cost you later to dispose of. If your goal is to buy antiques as an investment, buy the best you can afford and seek lots of advice beforehand.

You may be asking where to find the good antiques and how to learn which ones they are. The best way is probably to befriend a reputable dealer. Dealers love to learn about what you collect and are usually happy to help you understand an item and justify its asking price. One of the most famous antique dealers, Israel Sack, kept a large file of every piece of furniture sold through his shop and allowed his customers access to the file for reference.

Another way to start is to begin to watch auctions. The better auction houses have an expert make an assessment of the age and condition of a piece of furniture. They also provide an estimated hammer price. It may be better to watch auctions for a while before bidding to get a sense of what items are desirable and how much they should sell for. If you decide to bid, remember there is usually a 15 -20 percent fee on top of the hammer price known as the buyer’s premium. If an auction is within a reasonable distance its also advisable to go to the preview to inspect the items.

Another great way to learn about antiques and meet dealers is to attend an antiques show. There are at least two held in Pittsburgh each year, one in Sewickley and one in Fox Chapel. There are many other shows within driving distance. There’s usually an admission fee and the shows usually benefit a charity or non-profit organization.

What about ebay? Like the large antique mall, ebay may be better left for the experienced collector. Many pieces of furniture have been reproduced several times since the period in which the style originated. This is especially true for earlier styles. Experienced dealers and collectors usually find it easy to spot a reproduction, but it’s not always absolutely apparent. More, especially when you get into the more expensive furniture it may have been deliberately faked. It wouldn’t be the first time a piece has been deliberately aged and hidden in a corner for someone else to “discover.”

Subscribing to Maine Antiques Digest and Antiques Magazine are also great ways to begin to learn about antiques and collecting. Maine Antiques Digest is especially useful in establishing what price items can bring.

I should add finally that some antique malls restrict the quality of the merchandise offered there and the dealers are knowledgeable. Here are some places to find antiques in Pittsburgh:

Malls:

Antique Center of Strabane
2510 Washington Rd.- Route 19 South
724-745-8445

Independent Dealers:

Mark Evers Antiques and Fine Art
4951 Centre Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-688-9990

Merryvale Antiques
5867 Ellsworth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
412-661-3200

Gallery in the Square
5850 Ellsworth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
412-361-3808