American decorative arts · circa 1840 – 1900
Victorian furniture, researched and archived.
Object notes, maker attributions, and auction finds from the American Victorian era — organized as a reference library for collectors and researchers.
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Own the Name: Exact-Match .com Domains for the Great Victorian Cabinetmakers
Herterbrothers.com. Rjhorner.com. Johnhenrybelter.com. Rare exact-match .com domains for the most documented American Victorian cabinetmakers — available now via secure escrow.
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For The Record
For the Record: Kimbel & Cabus in a Little Oak Key Cabinet
A small oak hanging key cabinet at the Met shows Kimbel & Cabus applying Gothic architecture to a household form — a useful comparison point for minor case pieces.
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For the Record: Daniel Pabst, the Hand Behind the "Furness" Modern Gothic Cabinet
The Met's towering Modern Gothic cabinet is attributed to both Frank Furness and Daniel Pabst — designer and maker. Here's why the distinction between the two roles matters when you're cataloging one of these pieces.
German Renaissance Revival
I received an email from Alyson wanting to sell her Renaissance Revival parlor set (contact me if interested) and was intrigued by it's history so I thought that I'd share. "This set was handed down to me by my Grandmoth
Decent Furniture for Decent People
I'm sharing a PhD Thesis on 19th Century Canadian furniture with a special focus on manufacturer Jacques & Hay by Denise Jacques (I assume there is no coincidence there on the last name). She is now working on a book
Daniel M. Karcher Bookcase For William S. Auchincloss
It's not often that you can definitively identify a maker for a particular piece of Victorian furniture and equally rare is identifying a piece's original customer. When lucky enough to have some of this information, you
"Based On The Quality of Work" And Other False Reasonings
There are a lot of methodologies that people use to identify a particular piece's maker, but few of them drive me more bonkers than "based on the quality of the work it surely was made by so and so". Relative to what? Ho
No Reserve - Signed Alexander Roux Bed
You don't come across a signed, Rosewood Alexander Roux bed for $2k that often (current price with no reserve). It's not an overly grandiose bed in size or sophistication of design, but the carvings are exceptionally wel
The record is in the objects. Research what survives.— The Rare Victorian archive, est. 2008
Maker dossiers
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642 documented objects
Furniture forms, auction records, maker attributions, and collector notes — organized as a working research library.