The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1914-01-16
OVERRIDING THE ANTIQUE IN
FURNITURE.

Mahogany has great attraction
for nearly all women and some men,
especially when IL has been worked
over into colonial styles on furniture,
and more particularly when this fur
nfture is of the order commonly call
ed antique - a rule, mahogany fur
niture in colonial styles Is Its own
excuse. The greatest objection that
81 be raised against 1t is thar It
rather detracts from than sets OH
furniture OF every other material and
style i'm its immediate nelghborhood.
Perhaps this Ia the reason why a per-
son who makes beginning i'm antique
furniture collecting hardly ever knows
just when to stop. It may be that the
beginning was made with footstool;
this must be followed BY q bentley
ged, curved back chair; this must be
followed by three or four others TO
20 with it,; then comes the secretaire,
the davenport. then the drop-leaf
table. BY this time things in an
antique way may be said to have been
fairly set going
IL IL said by those who have given
Che matter careful observation and
study that the transition Of the antique
furniture buyer from the antique art
shop, where everything is polished
and perfect, to the antique second
hand shop, where everything needs
polishing and perfecting, and, finally
to the antique auction house where
The polished and perfect are mixed
Unfortunately with the unpublished
and imperfect, Is easy and natural,
and that, whereas the antique buyer
began timidly on the fashionable re-
tail street where the display IL intend
"a to be- most alluring, she becomes
bold on the side and back streets
where the aim Of thesecond- hand deal
er would seem to be to repel rather
than invite her custom IL she can
have him drag commode or a drop
leaf table, or a panel-backed chair
from beneath a dust-covered pile OF
sofas, dressers, sideboards and daven-
ports Of the eighteenth century, or
thereabouts, she will be glad to do
business with him On reasonable
terms. There IL possibly nothing III
1T, but 1t has sometimes seemed u the
careful observer and student that the
secondhand antique furniture dealer
scores point by making those things
he ~ most anxious to part with hard
est to get at.
AT all events, 1t frequently happens
that the antique furniture collection
increases until, little by little, IL
crowds all other kinds and styles OF
furniture out of the house. Then In
likely TO arise the condition touched
upon in the Monitors household page
few days ago namely, the collecting
may continue until there Is antique
furniture enough packed into one
home to furnish two or three estab-
lishments- OF course, the collector
should cease to collect long before
this point Is reached. There is such
thing as OVERRIDING even antique fur
niture collecting. Mahogany is all
right in its way--it II elegant Id its
Way-but even or mahogany there can
b. too much. Crowding every nall
way, corridor, landing, room and
chamber with polished antiques, 80
that It Is almost impossible to move
without scratching something, il 60
ing To an extreme. There should be
moderation in all things and eigh-
teenth century reservations i'm furni-
ture cannot be consistently excepted
from the rule.-Christian Science
Monitor.