The always intriguing window of Christopher Filley

One may not live at Downton Abbey ...

     but one can still dine like the lord of the manor.

English Sheraton mahogany concertina action dining table, c. 1820, set with a Wedgwood pearlware dessert service consisting of 12 plates, four shaped dishes and footed compote, c. 1820, Old Sheffield Plate candelabra, c. 1810, Old Sheffield Plate decanter stand, c. 1810,  and other table pieces of the period.  Contemporary Italian ceramic fruit.

Lessons in the construction (and deconstruction) of a chair

Last week one afternoon I decided to take a field trip to a nearby small city and check out the shops there.  Much of it was what you would expect to find in "antique" malls and a couple of the more promising looking shops weren't open and didn't appear to have regular hours (not unlike some of the shops in the district here, but that's another story).  I did happen to hit the afternoon of the local farmers market and took cover there when it started raining and picked up some fresh produce to hold me over until my regular Saturday morning visit to the Kansas City City Market.  Prices were higher at the small, local market than the City Market but I did score some good green beans (two varieties) and some really good snickerdoodles at only 3/$1.00.  I also made a nostalgia laden visit to the Dairy Queen (walk up window only) for a dipped cone.

But, back on topic.  In my searches I did come upon a chair down in the basement of a very out of the way shop, really more of a junk shop than an antique shop, even using the term pretty loosely.  The piece looked like it had pretty good lines and the price was right so I decided to give it a chance.  The upholstery smelled so badly of smoke and nicotine I thought I would loose it in the car on the drive back to Kansas City.  I spent several hours on July 4 stripping off the old upholstery and stuffing, gaining new respect for the guys at the local upholstery shop.  This is hard work!  They must know some tricks I don't because it took me a lot of time for one small chair.

After all that work, good news: my instincts and eye were proved right!  The piece is a nice, early 20th century chair with nicely carved legs and arms and good lines.  I would describe it as Hepplewhite in the "French" taste.  I would not call it a "reproduction" but a good interpretation of a late 18th century design.  I didn't think to take a picture of it in the "as purchased" condition (I was too busy trying to get rid of the smell), but here is what it looks like stripped down to the frame and what appears to be the remaining original springs and padding.

The frame is still in good shape.  One arm rest (on the left as you look at the chair) was replaced at some point and the other arm was loose were it joined the back.  At some point the arms had been re-glued rather sloppily.  Now comes the "deconstruction" part of this story.

 After a little research on the internet,  I found that plain white vinegar is the recommended solvent for wood glue.  So yesterday's project was to see if I could dissolve the old glue and disassemble the arms so that they could be properly re-glued and repaired as needed.  Well, much to my pleasant surprise, vinegar really does do the trick.  It took several applications and some patience, but the arms came apart easily.

The arm rests (which are intended to be padded and covered with fabric) are pegged into the back frame and then pegged to the hand rests (which are carved and finished wood) which are then pegged to the arm supports.  The back peg on the right arm rest was broken, causing it to separate from the back of the chair.  This was a lesson in chair construction for me.  I've seen many a stripped down chair frame (I have another sitting in the shop right now waiting to go to the upholsterers) but I normally don't see them disassembled to this point and certainly have never tried taking one apart like this myself.

What's next?  Finish removing the thousand and one staples remaining from the last recovering. (Whoever did the last job must have thought if one staple was good, ten were even better.)  Get the old peg out so the right arm can be re-attached to the back, re-glue the arms, wax the wood (I've already put on one coat which has made a big difference), and then it will be off to be reupholstered.  Stay tuned!