Antique Furniture Experts: Bought a Mission-style rocker, wondering more about it, photos included.

April 20, 2009 11:08 AM

Antique Furniture Experts: Bought a Mission-style Rocker, want to know more about it.

I bought this Mission style rocker at a local auction for $10, and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me more about it. It has the look of the Prairie School Mission style and it has square screw holding it together, which gives me an idea that it's definitely an antique piece.

The screws have "N" on them as apparent from the photos. Is there anyway this can tell me the maker, or anyway I can find out? There doesn't appear to be a marking. Images below.

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4

It has brackets that are newer on it, which means it has been repaired, but I was hoping I could sell it for a little profit.

posted by MMALR to home & garden (4 comments total)

My guess is that the N on the bolts is a mark of the bolt manufacturer, not the chair maker. I also think the bolts are an old repair, not original.

I'm not terribly expert here, but this doesn't say 'Prairie style" to me. Arts and Crafts, yes. Mission, maybe. But not Prairie.
posted by jon1270 at 11:33 AM on April 20

I looks, to me, as if this rocker started out its life as a side chair. The front legs are wider than the rockers (a distinct no-no), and the L-brackets would not have been a part of the construction. Also the rockers look disproportionately small for a heavy bodied chair.
I can't tell through the layers of paint if your chair is constructed out of (the traditional) quartersawn oak.
Definitely Mission inspired, though
posted by Acacia at 1:49 PM on April 20

Agreeing with Acacia and the paint / finish is also a problem as far as valuation. Looks like a Sears catalog 'mission style' chair from 1910 or thereabouts converted not very skillfully into a rocker. (Probably a labor of love for a beloved mother or grandmother). With the original finish and without the weird modification it was worth around 100- 200 dollars assuming the orginal patina was intact. Sorry but its worth about... 10 dollars. You could remove the rockers, strip it, fill the holes, re-finish it and sell it for approximately 100 dollars. You would have to do the stripping (Jasco) yourself to make this feasible economically. It's crummy, toxic work. As a side note, you may want to do that and then keep it. They happen to be very comfortable chairs.
posted by Muirwylde at 4:39 PM on April 20

Thanks for the answers. I'll likely keep it and solidify the base a bit. I love old rockers and they're comfortable. I would have sold it if it was worth something, but I see your point in it being converted.
posted by MMALR at 6:52 AM on April 21