List of antique furniture makers marks

Discerning homeowners love the elegance and sophistication of antique and vintage furniture.

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We appreciate the superior craftsmanship and quality, investing in old furniture pieces that are rarely matched in today’s world of mass-produced goods.

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But what do we know about the people who made these exquisite items? Can we discover more about them from their work? How do we identify antique furniture? Can we be sure that it’s a genuine antique?

Maker’s Marks

One way of identifying antique furniture is by looking at the maker’s mark. Many furniture makers in years gone by added an identifying mark on the wood furniture they produced, and they did this to take credit for their work and as a trademark.

It’s a signature that helps us ensure that we are dealing with a genuine article. This mark not only adds interest and appeal, but it also provides provenance and, therefore, value.

However, finding and identifying these can be a challenge!

Our list of antique furniture makers marks will help you discover more about your treasured pieces. Along the way, we’ll add some fascinating information and tips to help you be confident that your handmade furniture is the real thing.

What Is An Antique?

Most people agree that an antique has to be at least 100 years old. The trouble is, using this as a standard, more items become antiques every year. But just because something is old, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s antique. So, we tend to regard any collectable furniture more than 100 years old as an antique.

Vintage furniture is highly collectable but is usually between 20 and 100 years old.

How To Identify Antique Wooden Furniture

One way of identifying real antique wooden furniture is to check the maker’s mark. These are usually hidden as the makers didn’t want to spoil the look of each piece of furniture.

To find the mark, look at the entire piece. Remove drawers from an antique dresser, check underneath or on the ends, and look on the furniture’s underside, legs, and back.

What Do The Marks Look Like?

There is no uniform type. These marks can appear as ink stamps, ivorine (an early plastic from around 1900) labels, embossed metal tags, or are carved, branded or stamped into the wood. However, many will be paper labels with printed or handwritten details, usually the name of the furniture maker and their address.

Does All Antique Furniture Have A Maker’s Mark?

Unfortunately not. French antique furniture is much more likely to bear a mark, as they had strict rules concerning this. In 1743 a specific guild was established to verify and stamp* every piece of furniture made in France, so it is unusual to find French antiques without an identifying mark (usually branded with hot iron).

However, the opposite is true in Britain (especially before the 19th century), making life difficult for modern collectors as more investigation is required. It is pretty rare to find a piece of British antique furniture with a maker’s mark, so it’s a real bonus when you do find one.

*In addition, pieces were stamped with JME which stands for ‘jurande des menuisiers-ébénistes’. This means ‘jury of cabinetmakers and carpenters’, and items were only stamped if they passed inspection. Workshops were inspected four times a year, and poor quality furniture was confiscated. So, when you see JME on French antiques, it isn’t a maker’s mark!

Check The Joinery

All antique furniture was crafted by hand, and although it looks perfect, there are telltale signs that give a final clue to its authenticity. Genuine antiques have slight differences, while exact symmetry clearly indicates that the item is machine-made.

For example, handmade dovetails are uneven. You’ll find only a few dovetails on antique furniture, whereas several precisely cut dovetails that are closely spaced are a sign of modern machine-cut furniture.

Check the sides and bottom of a draw to see if the wood shows nicks and dips made by planes or spokeshaves. Machine-made furniture will be smooth and flat, with no imperfections.

Examine other small diameter components, as these should not be uniform. If you examine the parts carefully, you’ll see that they are not identical. The same components in a modern piece of furniture will be exactly the same.

Also, look out for arc-shaped marks on the base. If the wood shows circular shapes or anything that looks like an arc, it was cut using a circular saw, which only came into use in 1860. If you detect straight saw marks, it’s a good sign that the piece is of an earlier date.

Look At The Finish

Before 1860, most good quality furniture had a shellac finish as it was the only clear surface finish available. Very old pieces may have been coated with milk paint, wax, or oil. After 1860, antique furniture makers also used a lacquer or varnish finish.

Antique furniture can become caked in wax and dirt, which can be cleaned using a mix of white vinegar, kerosene and denatured alcohol. Once cleaned, test a small area by rubbing on neat denatured alcohol. If it is shellac, it will dissolve. Painted pieces can be tested using ammonia, which reacts with milk paint.

This isn’t often practical in the dealer’s showroom, but it’s best to do this before buying if possible.

What Type Of Wood Is It?

Very early furniture was almost always made from oak, right up until the 1700s. After this time, more exotic woods like mahogany and walnut became available, rapidly gaining popularity.

Pine was favoured in America for many years because of its versatility and abundance, though good quality furniture might be of mahogany, cherry, walnut, maple, or oak.

Identify Antique Furniture By Style

It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with different furniture styles and the dates they cover.

Here’s a basic guide with dates, key names and styles to help you:

English Furniture Styles

Queen Anne – 1701 to 1714

English Baroque
Graceful curves
Curved ‘cabriole’ legs
Claw-and-ball feet
Scallop shell or scroll motifs
Oak
Cherry
Walnut
Mahogany

Georgian Styles – 1714 to 1830 (styles changed radically during this time)

Thomas Chippendale
Thomas Sheraton
Carved decoration, gradually replaced by wood inlay
Baroque
Palladian
Ornate carvings
Walnut and walnut veneers on oak
Jappaning (an imitation of Japanese lacquer work)
Rococo
Gothic
Rich upholstery
Robert Adam
Rosewood and satinwood veneer
Empire style
Classical motifs

Regency – 1795 to 1837

Bold curves
Functional
Simple
Mahogany
John Nash
Neoclassical motifs
Far-Eastern influences

Victorian – approximately 1830 to 1890

Marble tops
Bulky design
Dark finish
Pugin
Greek influences
Gothic
Rococo
Art Nouveau (very early)

American furniture styles

American Colonial Styles – Early 1620 to 1730 Late 1730 to 1780

Heavy decoration
Pine
Walnut
Birch Maple
Windsor chair
Interpretations of English styles (Queen Anne and Georgian)with square lines

Federal – 1789 to 1823

Duncan Phyfe variations on the Sheraton style
Boston Rocker
Hitchcock chair
Cherry
Mahogony
French influence

Pennsylvania Dutch – 1720 to 1830

Plain and solid furniture
Germanic style
Painted furniture
Pine
Maple
Fruitwoods widely used
Walnut

Shaker – late 1800s to early 1900s

Mostly maple and pine
Strictly functional with no decoration
Excellent craftsmanship
Highly original designs

Examples Of Antique Furniture Maker’s Marks

It would be impossible to include a complete list of maker’s marks as there are thousands. We’ve listed some of the best British and French furniture makers to look out for:

Gillows of Lancaster. Founded in 1731, one of the era’s top furniture makers. During the 1740s, they imported mahogany for their furniture, opening a workshop in London in 1764. They allied with Waring of Liverpool in 1897 and merged to become Waring & Gillow in 1903.

John Taylor & Son. One of the most prestigious cabinet makers of Victorian times, established in 1825, they became ‘cabinet makers to the Queen’.

Wilkinson & Son. The Wilkinson workshop was established in the City of London in 1766. After several relocations (Ludgate Hill, Bond Street, and Welbeck Street), they were acquired by Marshall & Snellgrove in 1918.

Howard & Sons. Regarded as one of the foremost upholstered chair-makers of the Victorian era, Howard & Sons supplied furniture for the royal family from their base in London on several occasions.

Druce & Co. Established around 1853, Druce & Co. crafted, restored and upholstered quality furniture from its base on Baker Street, London. Sadly, the building was destroyed in WWII, and the business was closed down.

Martin Carlin. A renowned Parisian Master Ébéniste (from the wood, Ebony), M. Carlin (1730 – 1785) crafted luxury furniture, often mounted with Sévres porcelain.

Adam Weisweiler. Another prominent name in French antiques, Weisweiler’s work dated between 1778 and around 1810 when he retired. His most exquisite works include Japanese lacquer or Sévres porcelain panels and gilt bronze.

The Globe-Wernicke Co. Ltd. Established in 1899, Globe-Wernicke became famous for its office furniture, including barrister’s bookcases. Made from oak, mahogany, and walnut, these shelves were of a standard size and fitted together easily. This company had workshops in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and France.

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