How can you tell what year your furniture is?

Make sure to search for labels, stamps, or manufacturing tags that can tell when and where a piece was made. Furniture companies and makers often listed their names, locations, and year of production This information can be found on the inside of drawers, the backs of bureaus, and on the lower edges of pieces.

What year is federal style furniture?

Federal furniture refers to American furniture produced in the federal style period, which lasted from approximately 1789 to 1823 and is itself named after the Federalist Era in American politics (ca. 1788-1800).

What makes a house Federal style?

Typically, a Federal-style house is a simple square or rectangular box, two or three stories high and two rooms deep. Some structures have been made larger, modified with projecting wings or attached dependencies, or even both. Federal-style decoration often showcases geometrical concepts.

What do the numbers on old furniture mean?

A number could indicate the style, the maker, or even a patent granted to the company. The furniture back. Some manufacturers used less expensive wood on the back of a bureau, and they placed the label there, where it wouldn’t damage the finish.

What is Napoleon style furniture?

Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, was a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which used elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as iron frameworks and glass skylights.

What does American Empire furniture look like?

American Empire furniture often includes ornate carving, especially on the feet. There are antique claw-foot tables, dressers with ornately carved pillars, and other fine details. Look for egg-and-dart molding, star carvings, Greek key patterns, and many other highly worked elements.

What is Federal in interior design?

Federal interiors featured muted wall colors, minimal trimwork painted white, and delicately carved or inlaid decoration. The only exceptions to the understated approach were the bold patriotic symbols—fighting eagles, chair backs shaped like shields, trophylike urns, and other celebrations of military pride.