Name that chair (please)

January 26, 2008 3:41 PM

Aside from paying an appraiser - which I really don't want to do - is there any way I could find out anything about this chair?

I've got 4 of these chairs I'd like to sell, an interested potential buyer, and no clue at all what to suggest for a price. I've tried eBay and Google image search with no luck, and there's nothing helpful like a manufacturer name on the chairs themselves.

posted by still_wears_a_hat to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

Are there any markings or anything on the chair to help you figure out who made it?
posted by treesarefree at 3:46 PM on January 26, 2008

Totally missed that last sentence. I wish there was a delete button.
posted by treesarefree at 3:47 PM on January 26, 2008

Take them to an auctioneer who should tell you for free what you can expect to get for them should you decide to sell them at auction. From the photograph it is impossible to deduce anything, it would help if there was a photograph of the underside of the chair showing the joints.
posted by fire&wings at 3:51 PM on January 26, 2008

It's a pretty chair, but is there anything that makes you think that it is particularly valuable? It looks like any other mass-produced mid-century chair that probably came out of a mid to higher end furniture store. The fact that it doesn't have a manufacturer mark just reinforces this.

Pretty, but I wouldn't expect the set of four to sell for more than $100 or so. Maybe $150 or $200 if they are in excellent condition and the person really wants them.

I hope an expert shows up to prove me wrong though.
posted by wfrgms at 4:06 PM on January 26, 2008

if no one has any better ideas and you don't feel like taking it anywhere, you could probably send some pictures to apartmenttherapy.com, i see posts like that all the time.
posted by thisisnotkatrina at 4:22 PM on January 26, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for the info. wfrgms, I agree, I don't think they're worth much, but didn't want to find out I was wrong after I set a price. fire@wings, I've put photos of the bottom here and here, for what they're worth.

Thanks again,
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 4:39 PM on January 26, 2008

That first picture makes me think at least 5000 of them were produced.
posted by Pants! at 4:47 PM on January 26, 2008

CFheck out this summer's Antiques Roadshow summer tour stops - if any are close, you can put your name in the lottery for tickets. If you get picked, you can take one of the set and see what they say.
posted by pupdog at 4:54 PM on January 26, 2008

From the photographs they don't look particularly old or otherwise special. If I were you - and you don't seem to have a price in mind - I would ask your buyer to make you an offer for them. If you are not comfortable with that then you will have to set a price. How much did you pay for them? How often do you use them? Do you use them at all? Any damage? Think it over and charge what you feel is appropriate compensation for the set. If you use them and like them, make it reasonably substantial - items don't need to be old, famous or hand crafted to be highly valued by their owners.
posted by fire&wings at 5:08 PM on January 26, 2008

Try researching through the Crocker Chair Co. of Sheboygan, and other Sheboygen manufacturers.. They have several catalogs online, looks like yours may have been made in the 1920's
posted by Gungho at 7:31 PM on January 26, 2008

The style is somewhat generic Regency Revival. (It was during the Regency of George IV that rattan furniture peaked in popularity, and a century later there was a revival using modern milling machinery.)

Due to the ubiquity they are not worthless but generally not valuable either. On the other hand, this seems to be a good time for the Regency style, judging by current catalogs, so it's an excellent time to consider selling.
posted by dhartung at 9:35 PM on January 26, 2008