The field notes / category
93 published guides on repair, care and the stories behind well-made things.
Identify antique settles by function, proportion and construction, then date them cautiously and inspect condition, alterations, transport and total cost before buying.
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Identify antique bedsteads through material, construction, joints, repairs and proportion, then assess completeness, safety and total cost before buying.
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Learn how to assess an antique chair through construction, proportion, timber, upholstery, repairs and the evidence hidden underneath.
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Understand escritoire terminology and identify upright writing cabinets through fall fronts, fitted interiors, drawers, veneers, locks and regional forms.
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Identify and date kneehole desks using drawer construction, cupboards, veneers, feet, backs, hardware and evidence of later revival manufacture.
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Identify cylinder bureaux through rigid curved shutters, writing slides, linked mechanisms, fitted interiors, veneers and eighteenth-century construction.
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Identify and date roll-top desks through tambour construction, locking systems, fitted interiors, drawer units, maker marks, patents and production evidence.
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Identify bonheur-du-jour desks through compact writing tables, raised cabinets, fitted drawers, veneers, decoration, writing fittings and French context.
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Identify antique chiffoniers through low cupboard bases, shelves, superstructures, doors, veneers, brass grilles, Regency design and later adaptations.
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Identify bureau plat writing tables through French construction, frieze drawers, finished backs, leather tops, veneers, gilt-bronze mounts and revival evidence.
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Identify antique Davenport desks through sloping writing surfaces, side drawers, fitted interiors, supports, timbers, castors and nineteenth-century construction.
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Identify antique credenzas through form, veneers, glazed doors, marquetry, gilt-metal mounts, marble, carcass construction and Victorian revival evidence.
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