I realize I have gotten behind in my posts, but now that summer, if not necessarily the hot weather, is coming to an end, I hope to be posting regularly and frequently. Summer tends to be a slow season in the district and this summer's
hot weather did nothing to help traffic. But that doesn't mean that we haven't all been buying and if you haven't visited 45th Street for awhile come down and see all the new, great things everyone has.
I haven't written much about my own shop, R. J. Fendorf Antiques, and I'm going to take this opportunity to do so. I recently purchased much of the contents of a small estate from the Kansas City area and have some great new items in the shop. The two prize items are a period 18th century camel-back sofa and a late Regency/George IV concertina action dining room table.
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I would normally call a sofa of this design "Chippendale," but with the slightly tapered legs it is moving into "Hepplewhite" even though it retains the traditional "camel-back" design associated with Chippendale sofas. I would date it to 1780/1790 and believe it is English as opposed to American. It is a desirable 72" overall width and the dust cover has been removed so you can examine the underside of the frame. While the current upholstery is perfectly serviceable, this piece would benefit from a first class redo from our friends at Andrews & Abbey Riley down the street. I believe the lines would be sharper and one would get the full effect of this great piece.
The dining room table is also English and with its Sheraton style legs I would date it to the 1820-1830 period. The mahogany has great color and is an old, possibly original, finish. It has a "concertina" action (as opposed to the usual "slides") and expands from a console table of 24" depth to a table of up to 8 feet.
I've read about concertina action tables but have never seen one before. Georgian rooms were often small in size and this was a way both practical and ingenious for dealing with that. This is an extremely versatile table as well as a great piece of cabinet making. It includes four original leaves (You can see shadow marks from the concertina action on the bottoms of the leaves and only time can produce this.) and will seat from four to ten.
Another piece from the same estate is a great Chippendale style wing back armchair. This piece probably dates from the 1920s if not a little earlier and has great lines. It is very comfortable and large in size. It does need to be recovered and is priced accordingly.
I also have two Chinese embroidery pieces taken from 19th century imperial robes as well as a selection of antique English porcelain, silver and silver plate, paintings and prints, including a great set of early 19th century engravings and lithographs of the monuments of ancient Rome.
On a practical note, I've had several messages passed on that people have been unable to post comments on the blog. If you click on the "No comments" or "1 Comment," etc. at the end of each post a box should open allowing you to comment. Your comment will not appear immediately because comments are moderated to prevent spam, but I check for comments daily and they should appear within 24 hours. If you continue to have a problem posting comments email me at r.fendorf@att.net and I'll see if I can correct the problem.
See you on 45th Street!
Jeff Fendorf
R. J. Fendorf Antiques
1714 W. 45th Street (in the Georgian Village)
Kansas City, MO 64111
913-302-3206
r.fendorf@att.net
Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 4:30 pm
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