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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Mahogany Coffee Table With Leather Top (ca. 1940)

I recently picked up a Mahogany Coffee Table with a leather top surface. the main problems with the piece were the condition of the finish and the leather, and some loose joinery. The casters had also been attached with bolts in some cases which was an inappropriate way of doing this. the reason for this was that the bottom of the leg had been torn out and there wasn't much material to screw the caster into.

Sometimes I am not sure what I am going to do with a piece until I get it into the shop. The finish on this table was Shellac based, and at first I considered restoring the finish. As I began to do this I saw that the wood underneath was scratched and dinged up so I decided to remove the finish, sand and refinish the table.

This table was made by the Heritage Furniture Company around 1940-1950. It had the GENUINE MAHOGANY sticker on the bottom which was produced by an organization called the Mahogany Association (not a rock group, but a good name for one!) the Mahogany Association was a group comprised of furniture manufacturers who imported Mahogany into the us from the mid 1930's to 1969. The sticker says that all of the surface material (Veneer) and solid lumber and not some other wood made to look like Mahogany. This ensured that the customer was getting the real deal.

below are some photos of the restoration of the wood and leather. The first two photos show the table as it came to me.

The next two photos show some close up shots detailing the damage to the leather.

Here is the table getting the legs glued up.
This photo shows the damage to the leg from the caster getting pulled off.
Here is a photo of the patch I put in so the casters can be screwed back on.The next two photos show the table with the finish removed.

The table sanded and ready for staining.
The table and pull out tray after staining.
The last three photos show the table and tray during the French Polishing process and the leather restored.



10 comments:

  1. hi i have a queen ann table mahogany green leather top with floral patterns about 2 foot high is this an antique.
    thank you

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  2. This is interesting! I enjoyed reading your great post.Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have shared here. Leather Repairs Bradford

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  3. Did you know that this table should have a glass top to protect the leather? That's why it has a rim around the outside edge. Were you considering replacing that? These tables were in a lot of homes when I was a kid.

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  4. What did you do to restore the color of the leather?

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  5. I have a leather top coffee and end table. The bottoms are stamped with Beaucraft #57104 Dec 17 1959. What are they worth?

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    1. I also have a side table stamped Beaucraft 640 and dated Nov 14, 1958....it is a 2 tiered side table with leather inlay to both levels and also has a drawer....just wondering if anyone can share some knowledge about the table and it's value....glenmoreland@hotmail.com

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  6. Can you recommend someone to restore a Heritage Henredon leather top coffee table with some heavy water marks just on the top not the drop-down leafs. Houston or Dallas would be good for me as I can take and pick it up without having to ship. It is my grandmother's and I have taken excellent care of it for over 40 years. Recently we had a slow attic leak and it just damaged parts of it when items were sitting. Is there any way to restore it? Oh, it has gold edging around the edges as well. Thank you in advance for any help you may give me.

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  7. This is excellent. I'm attempting something similar on a favorite family piece. What did you use to restore the leather on the top? Thank you.

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  8. I have been searching all over the net for the last few years looking info on a coffee table I got from a good friend I finally found out it is from the weiman republic. But I can't figure out the value . Can any one help me

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  9. I found this exact same table for $10.00
    Any idea what it is worth?

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