Victorian chair
A Victorian dining chair. Possible Herter Brothers
This chair was passed down from my grandmother to me. She was from a very wealthy family. The chair that I believe to be a Herter Brothers chair most likely came from Chicago or Asheville.
Inherited
Yes
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Herter Bros were very careful to stamp their pieces, usually in a discrete place...if this doesn't have a Herter Bros mark, it is unlikely to have been made by them. Can you confirm if this has one; it will affect the value considerably if this is By Herter Bros, attributed to Herter Bros based on similaries to known commissions, or simply as a more general Aesthetic Movement walnut chair.
If you'd like this appraisal to include dimensions, which is customary but not necessary to complete this appraisal, please forward the overall height, width and depth and I'll include it.
Many thanks in advance; I look forward to hearing from you, at your convenience.
Delia
Marks are often on the inside of the seat rail and you won't be able to see if with the fabric across the bottom of the seat. It *should* be possible to untack 3 of the 4 sides of the muslin underpinning without risk of devaluing the chair so you can see if you see a mark.
If you are going to sell the chair at auction, I would recommend leaving the leg alone. While it would probably sell better with it repaired, it's difficult to quantify how much more it would bring if it were fixed (it will always be 'repaired') and there's no telling if you'd recoup the cost of the repair.
I have a book of Herter Bros furniture I can look through this evening to see if I can find a mate that would at least confirm at attribution. Let me know if you'd like me to do that.
We took off the backing off the bottom of the chair, an found no marks. So I looked up East Lake chairs, and the photos I saw really looked like my chair. Are there markings on a East Lake chair?
The style originated with Charles Eastlake, a British architect working at the same time as the Asthetic Movement when Herter Bros were working and whose designs were copied by makers in different companies/studios/shops so you wouldn't find an Eastlake signature or marks per se. Let me do a quick bit of pricing research and I'll have this done within a few hours; I can add in the dimensions if/when you can get them to me.
Hi Barbara,
The values single chairs in good condition are pretty low at the moment - maybe $100-150 for an individual chair in good condition. Factor in the damage to the front leg and the value of your chair drop considerably.
An Aesthetic Movement / Eastlake carved walnut part-upholstered side chair
American or English, late 19th Century
The outset crest with oakleaf and acorn decoration, the back and seat with beige wool upholstery within incised rails and stiles, raised over a shaped front rail, all raised on ring-turned front legs, on casters.
Overall height 38 inches; seat width 19 1/2 inches at front, 17 at back; 19 inches deep.
CONDITION: one front leg with considerable wear; the condition of the rest of the chair appears to be commensurate with age and use.
PROVENANCE: inherited from grandmother
$50-75 (in its present condition)*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, and thank you again for using Mearto.
Height 38 inches. Seat width 19 1/2 at front, 17 at back and is 19 inches deep. Frame of chair is just over 16 1/4 wide at back excluding all the “adornments”
Thanks. We only include the extreme dimensions but you're all set now.
I will go measure it. I am concerned about opening the seat of the chair, as this is where the signature or makers might would be. Also one leg has been damaged. But if the value is worth it I will be restoring the leg. Should I take the staples off the back or seat to look for the identifying marks?