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Antique Hepplewhite:
Important Cabinetmaking Centers.—From the last quarter of the 17th century on, there was scarcely a village of any size in the American colonies without its local cabinetmaker, often the coffinmaker as well for his community. As time went on and the colonies from Virginia south be¬came more and more agricultural, cabinetmaking there declined but did not cease entirely. From Philadelphia north, on the other hand, Furniture making became increasingly important. About 1800 the craft divided into two separate groups, cabinetmakers, who limited themselves to making tables, beds, various case pieces, beds and up¬holstered furniture, and chairmakers.
Chippendale and earlier periods, it was during the Hepplewhite and Sheraton years that some of the best work was done. Among Boston's out¬standing cabinetmakers was the firm of John Sey¬mour & Son, well-known for their Hepplewhite tambour pieces, especially secretaries and side¬boards. Contemporary with the Seymours wa: Simon Willard, inventor of the banjo clock whose shop was located in nearby Roxbury. In Charlestown, Major Benjamin Frothingham is known for his reverse serpentine slant-front desks of the Chippendale period and his Hep¬plewhite sideboards. Abner Toppam, known for his identified pieces, some of which show the transition from Chippendale to Hepplewhite worked in Newbury.Most large towns will have at least one antique Hepplewhite dealer, dealing in antique Hepplewhite Furniture of varying quality. antique Hepplewhite dealers generally fall into two categories — the trade dealer and the retailer — although some dealers may operate in both trade and retail areas. The trade dealer, as the name suggests, deals mainly with other dealers. The stock will turn over fairly quickly and, as a result, will not be fully on display. The prices will often be a little lower than the retail dealer, but, should you decide to buy and seek "trade prices", then restoration, delivery costs and the facility to return goods are often excluded. While these can be arranged, you should expect to pay extra.
See Also Antique Wallpaper:
When very expensive antique wallpaper or scenic wallpaper is used, the walls should always be covered in advance with muslin, and the paper glued to the fabric. This will permit removing the paper without tearing, if occasion for this should arise. Valuable wallpaper may be sized (covered with a coating of glue or gelatin) and then shellacked with white shellac. This protects the paper from dirt, dust, and finger marks and permits gentle washing with a damp rag. Care should be taken in applying the size to prevent the colors from running, as many wallpapers are printed with water-color or tempera paints that dissolve when liquids are used. The shellacking tends to give the paper a warm yellowish tone, gives it a slightly antique wallpaper appearance, causes the colors to be more brilliant, and to be blended in a more harmonious effect.Antiquing of wallpaper. Painters are often called upon to give wall¬paper an antique wallpaper, mellow effect. This softens the colors and draws them together. If the wallpaper pattern is printed in water color (tempera), the paper should first receive a coat of gelatin size, followed by a coat of shellac. The glaze itself may be in oil or turpentine, and the procedure is the same as antiquing painted surfaces. Metal leaf. The use of silver and gold leaf surfaces in Decoration has become popular in recent years. These effects are also part of the painter's work. Aluminum leaf is generally used in place of silver, as it is less ex¬pensive and does not tarnish. The application of metal leaf is accomplished by first applying a gold size to the surface to be treated. This is allowed to dry to a thick consistency, and the leaf is then applied to the size and allowed to dry thoroughly. It is best to varnish metal leaf for protection. Metal leaf is usually glazed over the varnish for antique wallpaper effects.
On The Other Hand See Picture Antique Past:
For himself, however, the collector may buy a picture antique past of every item in his collection, in addition to a picture antique past of him¬self surrounded by the objects. But it would be a mistake to make only simple record shots of, say, a man's antique coffee grinders and sell him small prints. It's much more profitable to do them up salon style, so that he can display the photo¬graphs proudly. There are great possibilities, too, of doing albums on cer¬tain types of collections. A man who collects big things like ing down stories on things only started or merely planned.picture antique pasts made on paper require glass for protection, as they grow dirty and cannot be cleaned. There are, however, many possible types of frame, varying according to the character of the picture antique past. For colored reproduc¬tions of the old masters, the frames may be very similar to those that would be used for an original. As a matter of fact, reproductions of fa¬mous paintings are rarely seen today in well-decorated interiors; if one is particularly fond of a masterpiece of the'past, however, there is no law of taste which forbids that a photograph of it be hung. Decorators have encouraged their clients to buy genuine antique paintings of a decorative nature, even though these picture antique pasts may be third or fourth rate—that is, providing the client cannot afford the best. It is felt that period rooms should be hung with contemporaneous originals or at least with well-executed copies.
