Philadelphia Walnut Sideboard, ca. 1880

Appraised on: August 15, 2009

Appraised in: San Jose, California

Appraised by: Brian Witherell

Category: Furniture

Episode Info: San Jose, Hour 2 (#1417)

Originally Aired: May 17, 2010

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (1:57)

GUEST: My father-in-law bought it on Santa Monica Boulevard at a secondhand furniture store in Hollywood. And he paid $200, plus he traded in an old buffet for it. That's about all I know about it.

APPRAISER: Okay. Well, based on its design, it would date from about 1870 to about 1890. It represents elements consistent with the English Aesthetic Movement, which was founded on sturdy construction, which this clearly exhibits with its bold architectural feel, these elements of nature that they've incorporated into it, these nice, straight lines that come throughout the piece, and also these decorative hinges that you see on both the top and the bottom. They wanted to produce furniture that was artful and utilitarian. It was introduced into the United States about 1860, 1865, but became very popular following the Centennial International Exhibition in 1876. It's very distinct that this is an American adaptation of that design and, more specifically, a Philadelphia school of design. Every one of these locks is marked the same way, and I don't know if you ever noticed that, but its "Shannon, Philadelphia." They don't come up a great deal, and there's a number of fine cabinetmakers that produced it. I'm hesitant to put an attribution on it. But it was clearly a fine cabinetmaker from Philadelphia. And also the cabinet is made of walnut throughout. Even the secondary woods are walnut. For insurance purposes, I would value it at $10,000.

GUEST: Okay. Sounds good to me.

APPRAISER: Thanks for coming in. I sure appreciate seeing it.

GUEST: Well, thank you.