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Antique Dining Set

Based on what I've been told and/or have been able to discover on my own, this set is a reproduction of "William and Mary" style furniture, presumably named after the British royals. As far as I know, it was manufactured (presumably in the US) in the early 1930s.

This set previously belonged to my mother's hairdresser, from whom it was obtained by my parents after her husband's passing in the mid 1960s. It was in regular use in our home in central New York, primarily on holidays and for entertaining guests, since we normally ate our meals in the kitchen.

My parents moved to Arizona in 1986, bringing the set with them. The chair joints have become very loose, apparently from shrinkage due to the extremely dry air here, and one of the arms (only one of the six chairs has arms) has actually come off, as has a small block on one of the table's feet. There are various signs of wear, from discoloration on the table surface from hot items placed on it to scrathes, scuffs, and so forth, so I would say that the set is due for a professional restoration.

That said, I have never seen a more regal looking set, nor one with so much effort apparently put into its creation. The set, or at least the massive legs and feet, appears to be made of Mahogany, and the flat surfaces like the table top and drawer fronts covered with veneer that is grain-matched so that two grain patterns running in opposing directions at right angles to each other meet in the center. Each piece contains intricate floral inlays as well.

While I am anything but an expert on furniture or antiques, the set, or at least the inlaid and veneered areas appear to be shellac-finished. The table top is railed and has a self-storing leaf with a release mechanism to lock the the sliding ends in place, and (thankfully) the entire top structure can be unbolted for moving. During the move to Arizona, one of the brass drawer pulls on the China cabinet was lost, so currently plain wooden knobs replace the pulls. At one point I planned to make a mold of the remaining pull and cast a duplicate, but that hasn't happened yet.

The asking price for this set is $2500, about a quarter of what it would be worth if professionally restored. Most importantly, I hope it finds a new owner who appreciates its beauty and craftsmanship.

The Chairs

There are six chairs; five without arms and one with.


The Buffet (Sideboard)

The buffet has four drawers and two side compartments with hinged doors. The pulls on the large center drawer match those that were on the China cabinet drawer, one of which was lost. The mirror shown in the first picture was not part of the set and has been sold.


The China Cabinet

As mentioned previously, the drawer pulls matched those on the large drawer in the buffet, and were replaced with wooden knobs when one pull was somehow lost during moving.


The Table

The table has a massive base and a top with hidden rails that allow the sections to slide apart to install the leaf that stores in the center. A catch on the opposite end releases the top sections so they can be moved. The top structure attaches to the base with four bolts.