How Do You Date Antique Dining Chairs?

Dating antique dining chairs depends on reading construction rather than style, because Georgian and Regency shapes have been reproduced continuously for two centuries. This guide explains how to examine the underside of a chair, where hand cut mortise and tenon joints, irregular glue blocks and untouched patina reveal how the frame was actually made. It covers reading saw marks, from straight pit sawn cuts to the arcs left by circular saws, and how hand made screws with blunt tips and off centre slots differ from later machine made fixings. There is guidance on the timbers that dominated each British period, the style vocabulary of Georgian, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian and Arts and Crafts chairs, and how authentic wear and timber shrinkage differ from artificial distressing. It also covers spotting assembled sets, altered legs and backs, maker stamps, and living with older chairs day to day....