The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1907-02-01
IMITATION ANTIQUES
THE WAY CABlNET MAKERS CAN COPY
ANCIENT FURNITURE.

|
| Sober. lie is one of the most inter
esting men / know. Unfortunately he
! is sober only three days a week When
i ask him the reason he merely says
he doesn't know. Yesterday when
walked into the laboratory mt the back
Of his little village shop he was Band
of Hope eptomized.
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
| land then you'll think it one of the
. best Queen Anne pieces extant."
Don't your customers ever find you
j OUT" l 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 tel
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
got by me and few little dents ham
mered here and there, especially about
J 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 a pride
in being able to deceive a trained eye
| and a satisfaction in explaining his
, dexterity.
left the bureau and began examin.
ing hoary looking oak settle gray
! with age.
Looks ancient, doesn't it," he OBJ
served.
'Looksw I wondered. "Surely it's
genuine?"
He shook his head with wise old
smile. "Its as genuine as dilute nitric
acid can make it. Oh, you needn't 60
| by the panels. They're purposely
warped with hot ammonia. The sun
and rain do the rest-bleach it, you
know"
but the carving?' I argued. "Its
almost effaced in places"
1T would he after half an hour with
O sand blast. little thing of my own
| contrivance. The worm holes l make
with very fine punch. Beginners use
shot, but that's clumsy way. OF
course the timbers it's made of are old
| They are bits Of a 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 We're to draw the screws that hold
them you'd find they We're rusty. too,
and had no points. Those l filed of
and then hammered the heads Bit
81 didn't know you-treated metal
as well as timber" admitted.
sometimes. See that fireback!
went to the corner indicated and
scrutinized the fireback. AS far as
could tell, it was beautiful specimen
of hammer work bitten and worn by
over two centuries Of use, as it's date
1857, seemed to show.
Il bought dozen of those Of differ
ent dates from man who makes
them. They're only cast. but after
they've had a bonfire over them in my
yard for a week or two they get soft
and look right enough, don't they?'
admitted that they did. f1inching a
bit, though. at the adjective he used.
,'There's a regular trade between the
manufacturers of faxed antiques and
the country dealers-more than Will
the London ones. Why? Well, 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. "It's merely question Of time
and skill, of cOurse-and it's only by
accident, OF talking as I'm doing. thai
the facts discovered. But when man
knows he can take in an expert it's
difficult for him to keep it 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 a forgery If somebody
hadn't talked? No. indeed! There's
china. now. People always think it's
above suspicion, but you just look al
those two china cows on the shell
there. Ones genuine old Stafford. The
other isn't. Can you tell the differ
encet'
Il used a pocket magnifying glass
this time. but at the end Of seyera
minutes I came to the conclusion thai
they were identical and said so.
81 gave one and nine for the imita
ton one. but l can't tell which now,
he admitted.
"And the selling price, l inquired.
six guineas each. One of thcm's
worth that After all, it doesn't really