The Greeley tribune., 1907-05-02
IMITATION ANTIQUES
THE WAY cAB,NETMAkERs CAN COPY
ANCIENT FURNITURE.

Sober, he is one of the most inter
esting men know. Unfortunately he
is sober only three days week. When
l ask him the reason he merely says
he doesn't know. Yesterday when I
walked into the laboratory at the back
of his little village shop he was a Band
Of Hope epitomized.
"There's something you'll like" he
said, Indicating small bureau, old
Spanish mahogany within, new satin
wood veneer-so far unpolished-with-
out. The veneer was inlaid with ebony
lines and kingwood bands. The accu-
racy of the jointing was wonderful,
the finish perfect.
"You must come in again when I've
stained and polished it." he went on,
"and then you'll think it one of the |
best Queen Anne pieces extant."
Don't your customers ever find you |
out?" 1 asked.
Lord, no. sir! When you've pulled |
seventeenth century furniture to pieces
all your life and learned the things the
lemons and mortises and the finish tell
you, it's easy enough to get the right
effect. The public hasn't any judg-
ment, and, for that matter, many of
the London dealers aren't much bet
ter"
"But this veneer-so very new"
hazarded.
"Ah, wait until you see it toned down
and the drawers fitted with set of
old Boule handles and scutcheons I've
nfS
nered here and there, especially about
the feet, where they get kicked.
You'll not know it 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 a trained eye
and a satisfaction in explaining his
dexterity.
3 left the bureau and began examin-
: ing a hoary looking oak settle gray
Q with age.
, Looks ancient doesn't it?' he OBJ
t served.
a "Looks! I wondered. "Surely it's
genuine2"
He shook his head with a wise old
smile. Its as genuine as dilute nitric
acid can make it. Oh, you needn't 60
Q by the panels. They're purposely
d warped with hot ammonia. The sun
h and rain do the rest-bleach 1t, YOU
II know"
y But the carving" I argued. "It'
a almost effaced in places"
- "It would be after half an hour witt
- a sand blast, little thing of my ow1
contriyance. The worm Eoles I max
i: with very fine punch. Beginners U.s.
J. shot, but that's clumsy way. "!
le course the timbers it's made of are old
X They are bits of a Charles l. table
IS mostly, The hinges are ordinary trads
:. comics that have lain in the wet nj
, summer and got nicely rusted, ana II
- YOU were to draw the screws that noie
> ~ them you'd find they were rusty 100
y and had no points. Those ! hled on
'r and then hammered the heads Dit.
m "I didn't know you-treated meta
If as well as timber" admitted
,e "sometimes. See that fireback"
: went to the corner indicated anc
, scrutinized the fireback. As far as
:, conId tell 1t was beautiful specimen
:, or hammer work bitten and worn oS
over two centuries Of use, as its date
10 1857, seemed to show.
h "I bought a dozen Of those OF diner
n ent dates from man VINO hahes
d them. They're only cast put a1'et
g they've had a bonfire over them in my
% ward for a week or two they get SOIL
:, and look right enough, don't they!
- 7 admitted that they did, finching d
u b,t though, at the adjective he used.
n .arbere's a regular trade between the
,r uonuf.cturers Of faxed antiques ana
II the country dealers-more than with
n thn London ones. Why? Well, the
,,o,ufoct,,rers have discovered that
4 neople 20 into the country districts
!, now hunting for antiques. Ihey tilinh
. the things they pick up there must De
genuine. The simple countryEhan III
J. spires confidence. There's nothlhs
S hardly that can't be Initiated he Went
e on. "Its merely question OF ulne-
Q and skill of course-and It's only ny
Il accident. or talking as Pm doing, tnat
tbe facts discovered. But when man
, knows he can take in an expert IL
) difficult for him to keep 1T to himseit
t -tbot ls. If he's got sense Of humor.
y Do YOU think that Syrian gold work
they had at the Louvre would nave
G bprn known as a forgery If somebody
hadn't talked? No, indeed! There's
i china, now People always think lts
9 above suspicion. but you just look u.
:, those two china cows on the sneif
y there. Ones genuine old Stafford. Inc
j. other isn't. Can you tell the dlfter-
) ence"
d used a pocket magnifying glass
, this time. but at the end Of several
|, minutes l came to the conclusion that
a they were Identical and said so.
81 gave one and nine for the fmita-
: tion one, but I can't tell which now"