Eastlake Style Rocker (ca. 1900)

I received a rocker recently from a customer who wanted it reupholstered. The finish was in good shape, so when it returned from the upholsterer I simply cleaned and waxed the chair. Unfortunately, I forgot to take some "before photos, but here are the photos of the chair with the new upholstery. the old springs were salvaged, but new webbing and stuffing was put inside to make a very comfortable seat!

Completed Lane Chest (ca. 1950)

Here are some photos of the Lane Cedar chest with Walnut veneer that I have been working on. The color of Walnut as it ages is beautiful and the veneers, especially on the front of the chest were quite nice. here is a link to the first entry on the chest:

http://johnmarkpower.blogspot.com/2010/07/lane-cedar-chest-with-walnut-veneer.html

Parson's Pleasure

My friend Steve recently loaned me a book of short stories by Roald Dahl entitled "Lambs to the Slaughter". One of the stories in the collection was called "Parson's Pleasure". The story deals with and Antiques Dealer and a Chippendale Commode. I included a page from "The Gentleman and Cabinet-maker's Director" by Thomas Chippendale above. It is an illustration he made of a commode.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and thought it might be nice to share it with all of you. I found a link to a Word document on the internet of the entire story, but was unable to put it into this post. If you Google "Roald Dahl Parsons Pleasure" you should find the document, or you can look for the story elsewhere.

I hope you enjoy the story and I'd love to hear what you think!

Roald Dahl

Completed Buckstaff Ladderback Writing Chair (ca. 1940)

"In dealing with the subject of furniture there is a strong temptation (and one which few writers withstand) to make positive statements which are only approximately true."

-Herbert Cescinsky

I came across this statement in a book entitled "English and American Furniture" by Herbert Cescinsky and George Leland Hunter. I read this the night after receiving some information from the Buckstaff Furniture Company concerning the Writing Chair I have been working on. My judgment of the piece erred slightly in that I go the date of manufacture wrong by a couple of decades and I alos got the slogan of the company wrong in the previous post. While these are slight mistakes, I thought the quotation was appropriate.

Mr. Tom Mugerauer from Buckstaff sent me some great information about the chair which I have posted below. The images are from an Office and School furniture Catalog from November of 1955. Not only is the chair listed, but there is also a drawing of the chair. Thanks goes out to he Buckstaff Furniture Co. for giving permission to reproduce these images. They are followed by a "before" shot of the chair and some photos of the completed chair.
this first image is of the chair. It also lists that it was available in different colors. I know that the color of the chair I restored was originally Harvest Wheat because the word Wheat was stamped on the underside of the chair.

This next image shows the listing for the chair in the catalog. It originally sold for twenty four dollars and twenty two cents.

Here is the Buckstaff logo from the catalog.
The last image is of the logo which I found under the paint. the logo reads "the Buckstaff Co.-The Quality Kind- Oshkosh,Wis." You can see what I had to work with in the following photo!

Here is the "before" photo of the chair.
These last images show the chair restored. Maple takes on a really nice shine when French Polished!

FOR SALE: Renaissance Revival Walnut Chair (ca.1880)

The Chair pictured below is for sale. It is a Walnut chair with leather upholstery that was made during the Renaissance Revival period of the Victorian Era circa 1880.

The chair is overall in good shape. If desired the finish could be improved and new upholstery put on, but the chair could also be used "as-is". You can click on the images to view them in larger dimensions. I have listed the sale price below as well as an estimated restoration cost. If you are interested in purchasing this chair please contact me at (703) 727-5691 0r at info@johnmarkpower.com.

AS-IS Price: $350.00
Restoration Estimate (if desired): $275.00 (Restoration of finish), $125.00 (Clean and Wax)

FOR SALE: Shennandoah Valley Walnut Writing Desk (ca. 1820)

Sold

The writing desk pictured below is currently for sale. The piece is a slant front writing desk made form Walnut with Poplar and Pine as secondary woods. The desk dates to around 1820 and comes from a house in Bunker Hill, Virginia, where it is believed to have spent most of its life. The desk has a solid Black Walnut writing surface which opens and is supported by tow pull ot desk supports. inside are four cubbie drawers with brass pulls and corresponding holes below. Below the writing surface is one large drawer with wooden pulls. All of this sits on tapered legs.

This is a fine local piece. It is in need of restoration but restored would have real value, especially locally. You can click on the image to view it in larger dimensions. If you are interested in purchasing this desk please contact me at (703) 727-5691 0r at info@johnmarkpower.com.

Lane Cedar Chest with Walnut Veneer (ca.1950)

One of the pieces I am currently working on is a Cedar blanket chest with Walnut veneer. This chest was made by the Lane Furniture Company in Altavista, Virginia. I have worked on many of these chests in the past and they came in many different shapes and sizes. I think that all of the chests had Walnut veneer. Lane is still in business and I read on their website that between 1912 and 1987, Lane manufactured and sold an estimated 12 million cedar chests. For a look at the Lane furniture company history, follow the link below. I also found a link to a recall for the Lane locks. If you have small children and one of these chests you might want to follow the link below the history link:

http://www.lanefurniture.com/AboutUs/CompanyHistory.aspx

http://www.lanefurniture.com/customer_care/newlockrequest.asp?LHF=

The chest I received had a lot of veneer damage and the finish needed to be removed and replaced. below are several photos of the work with descriptions of the process.

Here are two photos of the chest as it came to me. I had already started removing the finish from the top when I took these photos,so the top looks a little glossy.

Here is a photo of the chest with the finish removed.
The top had lost a lot of its veneer and several patches were necessary. the photo below shows one of the damaged areas.
In order to cut a patch to size I sometimes make a rubbing of the damaged area on paper and tape the paper to the veneer. I then cut out the patch along the edges of the paper. below is a photo of the rubbing above the damaged area.
The next step is to place the patch over the damaged area and cut scribe the edges and remove the excess veneer so that the patch will fit into the space.
The last step before gluing is to scape any dirt and old glue out of the damaged area. In this photo I have added a little space for a second patch on the right side.
Here is a photo of all of the patches and loose veneer being glued down on the top of the chest.
Here is the patch described above in place. the excess over hanging the edge of the top will be cut off flush.
The next three photos show several other patches glued in place around the top.


Once the patches were sanded flush and the excess was trimmed off. the patches were stained to blend in with the top. the next two photos show this.

This photo shows loose trim which was glued back in place.
On one side of the chest, the feet were missing the veneer completely. the next few photos show the veneer being replaced

Here is a photo of the veneer being glued on the back foot.
This photo shows the veneer glued in place. the excess was trimmed off and the veneer was stained to match the chest.
The next two shots show the chest with a few coats of finish on it.

Sometimes when I get patches laid out well, I stain them to blend them into the existing wood rather than using touch up powder to Faux the grain. This is not always possible, but I like the results when it works. The patches are still visible upon close inspection, but they look very natural. Below are three photos of the patches during the finishing process.


The last three photos show the chest about two thirds through the finishing process. I will post some photos of the chest when it is completed