Perspective on Antiques

Let's take your questions in order.
I do not recognize the maker of the unmarked chairs, but I doubt they are Stickley or Limbert. By the second decade of the 20th century, hundreds of small furniture manufacturers were producing Mission furniture; the style's popularity and simple lines made it easy to produce at a profit. In my area, update New York around Syracuse, there were at least a dozen manufacturers of Mission style furniture. It does not appear that there is much upholstery to save on these chairs, but in any case having them reupholstered will not adversely affect their value.

From your photo, the seats on the six Stickley Brothers Quaint 479 1/2 chairs do not appear to be in poor condition, although you do say that the seat frames and plywood base are beginning to fail. If these were my chairs, I would ask a restorer for advice; I would think the original materials could be repaired and made sound enough to keep in place. I do believe that replacing or reupholstering these seats would reduce the value of these chairs. I have recommended to collectors that if they are intent on new upholstery, they should remove and store the original seats that could be reproduced with your choice of upholstery.

The different catalog number on the chairs you describe as similar to the 479 1/2 models could indicate a different production date, a different type of seat or some small dimensional change that might be undetectable. (I am including part of a page from the Stickley Brothers catalog, showing a 379 1/2 side chair, which is cataloged as a dining chair with an upholstered seat. The 479 1/2 would be cataloged as a loose cushion seat because it can be removed. The 379 1/2 upholstery is fixed directly to the seat frame of the chair.) I would address the seats for these in the same way as the set of six.

Whether changing the original steel glides on the bottom of the legs would affect the value of the chairs may be of little practical significance; if you want to use the chairs and the glides have deteriorated, you don't have much choice. If they are rusted but the metal hasn't substantially deteriorated, you could try simply cleaning them or removing the rust with steel wool and applying a coat of wax to the metal. Glides that have deteriorated need to be replaced to avoid damage to your floors. There are several groups of replacement glides. For chairs that will rest on hardwood floors, I prefer the original steel glides with three-prong attachments; softer materials can become imbedded with grit that will scratch the floors. Chairs that will be used on tile floors should rest on vinyl or nylon glides, which are easily installed with one small nail that is attached to the glide.

Waxing is the simplest way of caring for wood, although there are correct and incorrect ways of applying wax. The two most common mistakes are applying too much, resulting in streaks, and wiping newly applied wax off too soon, before it is dry enough to form a protective surface; the instructions that come with the wax should always be followed. If a piece is very dirty, with layers of dirt buildup, oil-free 0000-gauge woodworkers steel wool is usually the best applicator; if you are simply waxing to create a protective coat, a cotton cloth will work fine.

Lemon oil and other polishes will clean furniture but offer little protection and can be harmful to the wood's finish. Commercial so-called "lemon oil" has little to do with lemons; it is basically lemon-scented kerosene. Spray-on dusting agents may not be directly harmful, but they contain silicone, which can prevent subsequent restoration of an old finish or replacement of an inappropriate finish because it will prevent a new finish from adhering to the wood, even after being stripped.

If you are going to move beyond the care of your furniture into the area of restoration and/or conservation I would recommend some reading. Bruce Johnson has written several very helpful books. One is The Weekend Refinisher, which walks you through different types of restoration for different styles of furniture. Another is The Pegged Join, which deals primarily with Mission furniture.

Although it is out of print, it can still be purchased online from the Craftsman Farms gift shop in Morris Plains, N.J. (stickleymuseumshop.safeshopper.com) and from used-book sellers through Amazon (amazon.com/Pegged-Joint-Restoring-Furniture-Finishes/dp/1886840008)

I purchased this hammered-copper bowl from a very good Arts and Crafts antique's dealer. They sold it as a Stickley Brothers hammered copper bowl. The bottom of the bowl is marked with what appears to be "I 24" or "L 24" The bowl is nicely done, in very heavy hammered copper with nice patina. I could not find a reference book with this marking shown: the dealers remember seeing a reference but could not remember where. Can you help me find out who made this beautiful copper bowl?

Randy Glysch
Madison, Wis.

The Stickley Brothers Company did die-stamp numbers on the bottoms of much of the metalware and lighting they sold. There is a bowl of similar form ("No. 40 Finger Bowl") pictured and described in a Stickley catalog, although it has a different number.

A good deal of the decorative copperware sold during the Arts and Crafts period was produced or imported from Russia. There are references to the Stickley Brothers Company as "importers and manufacturers of Russian hand beaten copper" in their advertising. It was not unusual for furniture manufacturers to add Russian copper as decorative accessories to their furniture.

Gustav Stickley, Limbert, and Roycroft were all early users of copper furniture hardware, much of it, during the earliest years, quite crude and supplied by independent copper shops. I have seen door pulls on Limbert pieces that appeared to have been cut from sheet copper with tin snips, and ring pulls fastened with cotter-pin-like holders. Even Gustav Stickley's earliest key escutcheons were hand cut from iron or heavy-gauge copper, showing unique irregular edges.

Once furniture production increased, the quality and consistency of hardware needed to increase as well. In Stickley's case, this meant shifting from acquiring hardware from outside vendors to producing it in his own ship, where he could exert greater control over its quality and consistency, (See David Cathers, Gustav Stickley, Chapter Seven, "Hardware and Textiles") Once this metalworking capability was in house, the idea of producing decorative pieces may have arisen, at least in part (and fortunately for us), as a way of using it productively during hardware production downtimes.

Have you been wondering about the history of a favorite Arts and Crafts Antique or who might have been the maker of your latest find? Do you need to know how to care for a damaged finish or what to look for when buying early-20th-century pottery, furniture, metalwares or other collectibles?

Expert David Rudd is American Bungalow's knowledgeable guide into the fascinating and often confusing world of antiques. Send you questions and photos to editors@ambungalow.com or mail to the address on page 1 and share your find with other readers. We look forward to hearing from you.

David Rudd is president of the Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York and owner of Dalton's American Decorative Arts in Syracuse; visit his shop at daltons.com. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author.