The creation of the easy chair was an inevitable development in the search for comfortable seating. Today, the upholstery can be just as important as the frame in determining the value of these chairs.

It was a natural progression from the simple padded chair to one with arms and an upholstered back, and then to the fully upholstered easy armchair: This was first seen towards the end of the 17th century, and has remained popular ever since.

Most 20th-century easy chairs are mass- produced and consequently of little or no interest to collectors. However, there are some exceptions, including chairs by the Modernist architect-designers of the 1920s and 3os, such as Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, and by the new generation of 1950s and 60s designers such as Ernest Race and Charles Eames, whose tubular steel and leather chairs already fetch £800-£ 1500. (more…)

Despite the fact that the English hallmarking system is ancient and well-tested, it cannot be relied upon purely for the authenticity of a piece. Its very reputation, respected and revered the world over, makes it vulnerable to dishonest use by fakers and forgers. Transposing marks from one object to another is not an uncommon practice and can be very lucrative when the piece is sold for a high price. Genuine marks may also be removed from an older, damaged object and `married’ to a far later example. This is why experts will sometimes breathe on a piece for, by doing so, the outline of the joins which are invisible to the naked eye should reveal themselves. Certainly when the object is oxidised the let-in silver usually shows fairly clearly. This practice of transposition is not a new one and has been used for many years. (more…)

A knife and fork may seem the perfect combination by modern standards, but before forks came into general use the knife and the spoon were the two vital, complementary utensils which served the needs at table. While eighteenth century examples of knives with handles of cast silver are available at a very high cost, the expense involved in making these in the heavier-gauge silver means that most eighteenth century examples available today are of the thinner silver produced at the end of the century.

Forks were used increasingly in England after the Restoration. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has a two-pronged fork made in 1632, one of the oldest silver table forks, but this is a very rare example. (more…)

Monteiths, punch bowls and punch ladles

The monteith, which looks like a punch bowl with an ornate rim arid lifting handles, fir ^whist appeared some 20 years after the Restoration but became more general during the later years of the seventeenth century and earlier years of the eighteenth. Monteiths are comparatively rare pieces, and therefore fetch high prices. Their scalloped and notched rims were generally removable. The monteith was filld with cold water, then glasses were hung by their foot upon the notchese, and thus allowed to cool in the water. When the monteith was not being used in l filled it punch. (more…)

At the beginning of Queen Anne’s reign the taking of snuff became popular in England, thought to be as a result of the vast amounts which infiltrated the London market following the capture of Spanish ships carrying snuff in the action of Vigo Bay. It had been introduced to Europe many years before, the Spaniards having first tried it following the discovery by Cortes of Mexicans taking snuff in 1520. The taking of snuff persisted despite two popes issuing bulls against the strange new habit, and, in fact, became exceedingly fashionable during the eighteenth century. It still has a following today. (more…)

Buttons

Buttons were made in various metals including gold, silver, gilt, Sheffield plate, pewter, steel, wire and brass. With the exception of certain metal buttons, they were generally dome-shaped during the first half of the eighteenth century and usually of a medium or small size. Until the days of Elizabeth I, buttons had been ornamental only, since clothes were fastened by aiglets or hooks-and-eyes and various other devices. Nevertheless, buttons were popular even then, as can be seen in contemporary portraits whose subjects are often dressed in costumes liberally decorated by this form of ornament. Very early silver buttons, however, have mostly disappeared over the years. (more…)

A very interesting collection of knife rests can be built up, particularly if the collector seeks them in other materials in addition to sterling silver. The added advantage is that the general cost of establishing such a collection is lessened. Such a collection can then be sold at a later stage and the money re-invested in something more costly.

Basically the knife rest is a simple rod with a support at either end which keeps the rod clear of the table and enables it to support carving implements. The interest of knife rests lies mainly in the amazing diversity of ideas, many of which are novel, that brightened up this ordinary object. Animals were well-favoured as the supports and included elephants, camels, lions, monkeys, owls and so on. Others may be delicate, in the form of butterflies, or rather impressive, featuring peacocks or unicorns. Sometimes the supports are not disguised at all, perhaps merely decorated a little. Thistles, flowers or gnarled branches might grace others. Knife rests became more general in the nineteenth century. (more…)

My first advice to anyone starting to collect furniture is not to be in too much of a hurry. I know how easy it is to become obsessed by some attractive piece in the window of your local antique shop, or to get excited when you hear something being knocked down apparently very cheaply at an auction sale. But furniture is not something which can be put away in a cabinet; it has to be lived with all day and every day. So take a good deal of time looking around and weighing things up. Get to know something about woods and how furniture is made, what kinds of dodges fakers get up to, the current values in different places. (more…)

Remains now to take a look at some of the oddments around the room, which you might call furnishing accessories. The two odd-looking objects are knife boxes or cases. They date from times when silver cutlery was highly expensive in relation to servants’ wages and no householder would have dreamed of allowing the staff to take the silver out into the kitchen for washing. So after every meal the footmen were made to wash the cutlery in the dining-room, under the eagle eye of the butler or housekeeper—if not of the hostess herself. Water for this purpose was usually provided in one of the pedestal cupboards at either end of the sideboard. The idea of arranging the holes for the knives in rows was that by running an eye over the serried ranks of handles you could see at once if any were missing; if all were in order, the case could be locked and the key firmly kept by someone in authority, probably on the housekeeper’s jangling reticule. (more…)