Q.     I am trying to determine the age of the drop front desk I inherited from my grandmother. My father says it belonged to grandma's grandma and is over two hundred years old. I know its old but I have my doubts about it being that old. It has the fake columns next to the door inside to hide small stuff and the supports come out automatically when you open the lid.

A.     You have just encountered the least reliable of all furniture dating methods, family history. Most families do not know their history past one or two generations and sometimes "facts of convenience" are contrived to fit the situation. The supports you mention are called "lopers" in the trade and they are the key to the age of the piece. Since they extend automatically when the drop front is opened, the desk is from the 20th century without a doubt since the mechanism that operates the lopers was not in general use until the 1920's. The fake columns are called "document drawers" and the small door is called a "prospect door".
Other clues that will tell you that the desk is from the 20th century include the machine made dovetail joints on the sides of the drawers and the way the veneer is applied to the drawer fronts. The evenly sized pins and tails that make up a dovetail joint are characteristic of machine made work and are generally 20th century features although the machinery was in use in the late 1800's. If you look closely at the bottom of a drawer face you probably will be able to see five distinct layers of wood, with four of them being extremely thin. This is called lumber core plywood because the core is the thick piece of lumber that makes the interior center of the face. Then four layers of veneer, two on each side are applied to the drawer front, with the outside front face being probably walnut or mahogany and the other veneer layers being gum, poplar, etc. This also is a feature of 20th century manufacturing techniques.

Sorry to rain on your father's fantasy but there's nothing like the facts in the study of furniture.

Q.     I heard a lecturer refer to the 19th century, in terms of furniture, as the century of revival. I thought Victorian was the overall theme of the 1800's. Who is correct?

A.     In a way you both are. Victoria became Queen of England in 1837 and ruled until 1901 so she was a major influence on the period. "Victorian" is a term loosely applied to furniture from that period but there were many styles and variations included under that umbrella and most of them were revivals of older forms, updated to the "modern times" of the century. Some "non-Victorian" styles opened the century in America with the Federal period, which really was a rehash of earlier English works by Sheraton, Hepplewhite and the Adam brothers. Then came American Empire in the 1820's, a derivative of French Empire which was a revival of Egyptian animism. In 1825 came the earliest of the Victorian styles, the Gothic and Elizabethan revivals, recalling themes of the Middle Ages. Then American Empire came around again in 1840 under the names Empire Revival, Late Classicism or French Restauration.

The Rococo of mid century was a repeat of the lavishness of the French courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV and eventually was doomed by its main component, its curvy excesses, which were not adaptable to the factory system emerging after the Civil War. The first of the major factory styles was Renaissance Revival, adapted by and for factory production on a grand scale. This was followed by Colonial Revival, a 19th century look at 18th century American styles. The century was rounded out by two more retro styles, Eastlake and Arts and Crafts, both looking back to craftsmanship and simplicity of the Middle Ages, again.

All of these revivals ultimately played themselves out except for the Colonial Revival, which some consider to be going strong well into the 21st century.

Q.     Where can I find details about old pianos? I am a musician interested in the history of instruments.

A.     An excellent reference book is the Pierce Piano Atlas, ISBN 0-911138-3. I don't know if it is still in print but old copies work well too. It gives some brief information and history on most American piano companies and some European ones, as well as giving serial number ranges by date for most manufacturers. Another source of piano information can be found online at www.pianofinders.com. In addition to areas of general piano interest, this site provides guidelines for determining the value of a piano and will help you find a specific model or brand.

      Fred Taylor's new book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is now available for $18.95 plus $2.00 S & H. Send check or money order for $20.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.