Need help datin g a chest of drawers.

[robgil]

Hi, I have a two over three chest of drawers. It looks like Walnut veneer on Oak however it could be Mahogany. The dovatails are hand cut and quite large. The chest is quite large, around chest height. It has dust guards below each drawer, the back is panelled with two panels and one support down the middle. It stands on four elongated bun feet. I dont think the side panels are veneered. It has quite badly split on the sides and top.
I can load up some detailed photos either later tonight or tomorrow.

Can anyone tell me what tell tale singes to look for while dating such a piece?

[bigwull]

More pics are essential,over here on the older side of the pond...this is known as a 2 over 3 chest of drawers...circa mid to late Victorian,..pine versions over here in A.1 condition fetch around £200/300..this one will be a bit less, see pics of Victorian pine 2 over 3

[mart]

Need a few more pics !!  Back, dovetails on the large drawer,closeup of entire piece would be great and one of the top !!
Also need your location !!

[robgil]

Cheers fella, I'm down here in Suffolk so I think I'm on your side of the pond? I shall get some more photos later tonight or tomorrow. My first thoughts were early Victorian due to looking at photos on the net however early furniture afaik would have been solid and not veneered? What I really need to know is when they started to use veneer although I know this by itself wont provide enough evidence to date it accurately. The feet also look early but again I have not enough experience to make an accurate date on it. Also, I have seen most Victorian veneered furniture to have sounded edges and I have read that early veneered chests were straight?
I guess until I get the photos we are just shooting in the dark.

[robgil]

I'm just loading some detailed photos onto photobucket, should have them up in a few minutes.

[bigwull]

This one of yours looks more like Mahogany,..i,d be surprised if its oak underneath...the drawers may be oak lined...this was used as it did,nt move the way pine did...i.e. shrinkage/expansion..= sticking drawers...the main  body of the piece is almost certainly pine,..the back board  will have the centre piece  with channels cut into it..and the panels inserted this was for stability.....i,m going to stick with it being around 1860/80,

[robgil]

Thanks fella, I was thinking Victorian repro of something earlier but as I said I am too inexperienced to make any certain judgements.

Here are some closer pics, anything more specific will have to wait until tomorrow or I would only wake the kids, she'd kill me.

Dovetails to bottom drawer.



Inside bottom drawer



Inside top drawer hole.



Top



Inside bottom drawer



Bottom drawer rear dovetails.



Inside bottom drawer compartment



Back from inside



Drawer front



Foot



back



Side



Small top drawer back



Inside small top drawer.



Small top drawer face



Small drawer front dovatails



Small drawer rear dovetails



Bottom front small top drawer



Bottom small drawer



Rear small drawer



Rear small drawer face



Sorry it took so long. Photobucket is even slower than me.

[robgil]

Forgot to add, the drawer pulls are held in place with large screws made from wood.

[bigwull]

its as i thought, the carcase is pine, the drawers oak lined...the splits are horrendous....and as for photobucket being as slow as you....well, just be thankfull you are in Suffolk....and not in Texas....where its 3 steps forward and 2 back... ...like these

http://www.tuxfordfurniturehardware.co.uk/myshop/cat_117937-Drawer-Knobs-for-the-Craftsman-Restorer.html

[robgil]

Thanks Bigwull, for some reason I thought you were Scottish.
Yes , those are the screws, they threw me a bit , I wasnt expecting those. Is there any reason why the sides are not veneered? Or are they? They seem ruff to the touch. My first thoughts were it was close to or in a fire, one of the drawer pulls looks burnt and blistered and as you say the cracks are horrendous. I thought the side may have lost or had it veneer damaged by being sat beside a fire.

[mart]

Are both sides the same ??  Looks like 1880 to 1900 !!  Appears to be a mahogany case with pine as secondary wood although I saw a few supports that were mahogany too and what looks like a walnut back although thats a dark pic, could be wrong on that one !!  Pretty typical construction for the UK !!  Its difficult to remove veneer without some trace being left !! That top can be repaired without much difficulty !!  If you are going to keep it I would have it done !!  Don`t want to remove too much of the age factor !! Its not a particularly valuable chest but would be good storage !!

[bigwull]

Do you mean are the carcase side,s veneered...if so yes,..as for being Scottish...well according to one particular,Genteel Lady ...i, am an  ornery Scotsman...which i took to be a compliment....at any other time, i,m a Grumpy old git....who does,nt suffer fools gladly...now back to your 2 over 3...which BTW...would not find its way into my ever hungry woodburner....cos i like 2 over3,s...they hold a lot, and the bottom drawer is for blankets, and in the 18/19century, it doubled as a sleeping cot for wee Jimmy or Mary...

[bigwull]

Great minds think alike....and either i,m getting more like a Genteel Texan or you might become an honorary Scots Lass...note Honorary....unlike ornery..which is bad tempered  & combative.

[robgil]

Nothing wrong with being a grumpy old git, its every mans right.
So looking at the pics the side still has it's veneer? It looked like pine to me. Thats good news. Not sure on if to fix the finish or not, if I fix it it will mean rubbing it down slightly with wire wool and I am a big fan of preserving a patina, even fire damaged ones. I took one of the drawer pulls off and it left a small circle of the original finish, its a nice deep red shellac finish.For some reason its gone brown over the years, which is why I though it may have been walnut.

[bigwull]

If it was mine, I,d be leaving it as it is, its functional, looks not too bad.....and if anyone commented otherwise...I,d ask them to shut the door as the leave....and as Sergie would say.....simples...w hich i have no doubt you,ll understand...but them on the new side of the pond...well,it,ll be lost on them...