Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-02-03
IMITATION ANTIQUES
THE WAY cABlNETMAkERs CAN COPY
ANCIENT FURNITURE.

Mt Little shop In an EnaIi.h
Country Village.
Sober, he is one of the most inter
esting men l know. Unfortunately he
Is sober only three days week. When
ask him the reason he merely says
he doesn't know. Yesterday when
walked into the laboratory at the back
of his little village shop he was a Band
OF Hope epitoinizcd.
There's something you'll like" he
said. Indicating small bureau, old
Spanish mahogany within, new satin.
wood vcncer-so far unpolished-with.
out. The veneer was inlaid with ebony
lines and kingwood bands. The accu.
rncy of the jointlng was wonderful,
the finish perfect.
You must come In again when I've
stained and polished It," he went ON,
land then you'll think 1t one of tho
best Queen Anne pieces extant"
Don't your customers ever find you
out?" asked.
Lord, no. sir! When you've pulled
seventeenth century furniture to pieces
all your life ana learned the things tho
lemons and mortiscs and the finish tel,
you, It's easy enough to get the right
effect Tho public hasn't any judg
mcnt, and, for that matter, many Of
the London dealers aren't much bet
ter"
"But this venccr-so very new" ]
hazarded.
"Ah, walt until you see 1t toned down
and the drawers fitted with set OF
old Boule handles and scutcheons I've
got by me nnd few little dents ham
mcrcd here and there, especially about
the feet, where they get kicked
You'll not know 1t then. See that lit
tie black knot I've left on the face OF
the third drawer? That knot would
take In all Wardour street"
He Is always frank with me about
his fakes. He seems to TAKE pride
In being able to deceive trained eye
and satisfaction In explaining his
dexterity.
left the bureau and began exnmin.
Ing n hoary looking oak settle gray
with age.
Looks ancient, doesn't It?" ho oh
served.
"Loois!' l wondered. "Surely It's
genulnci"
He shook his head with n wise old
sDIir. IT'S as genuine MS dilute nitric
aclo can make II. Oh, you needn't 20
by the panels. They're purposely
warped with hot ammonia. The sun
and rain do the rest-blench 1t, you
know"
nj m 0r,-in ry
almost etfnced in places"
1T would be after half an hour. with
sand blast, n little thing of my own
contrivance. The worm holes make
with n very fine punch. Beginners use
shot, but that's n clumsy way. OIL
course the timbcrs It's made of are old
They are bits OF Charles l. table
mostly. The hinges are ordinary trade
copies that have lain In the wet all
summer and got nicely rusted. and II
you were to draw the screws that hold
them you'd find they were rusty. too.
and had no points. Those I fled OF
and then hammered the heads bit"
II didn't know you-trcated metal
rs well MS timber" admitted.
Sometimes. See that fireback?'
went to the corner indicated and
scrutinIzcd the fircback. AS far as !
could tell, it was n beautiful specimen
OF hammer work bitten and worn by
over two centuries Of use, as its date.
1857, seemed to show.
81 bought dozen OF those Of differ
cnt dates from man who makes
them. They're only cast. but after
they've had n bonfire over them In my
yard for week or two they get SOFT
and look right enough, don't thcy?"
/ admitted that they did, flinching n
bit. though, at the adjective he used.
There's n regular trade between the
manufacturers of faxed antiques and
the country dealers-more than with
the London ones. Why? We'll, the
manufacturers have discovered that
people go into the country districts
now hunting for antiques. They think
the things they pick up there must be
genuine. The simple countryman In
spires confidence. There's nothing
hardly that can't be Initiated" he went
on. "1t's merely n question OF time
and skill, of course-and it's only by
accident, or talking as I'm doing, that
the facts discovered. But when man
knows he can take in an expert it's
difficult for him to keep 1t to himself
that Is, If he's got sense of humor.
Do YOU think that Syrian gold work
they had at the Louvre would have
been known as forgery ir somebody
hadn't talked? No, indeed! There's
china, now. People always think it's
above suspicion, but you just look Mt
those two china cows on the shelf
there. Ones genuine old Stafford The
other Isn't. Can you tell the differ
ence|