Living room chair
I'm afraid I don't know much about furniture or this furniture especially. The sofa and two chairs were the central chairs in our living room for all 61 years that the house was in the family. The upholsterers, Emanuel, a fixture in Wantagh, Long Island for about 70 years, was responsible for caring for the chairs and reupholstering them maybe every 15 years. They closed during the pandemic and don't look like they'll be returning. I was there for my first visit when my mother needed a little damage repaired done by Tropical Storm Irene in 2007 I think. They must have said something about these pieces that made me think they had value, for two years after my mother died I stopped over with photos. They were enthused and named some price as what they would sell it for if it were their. I was not to expect but half of that as a seller to another retail seller. I don't trust my memory as to the value that they had mentioned. This first chair is the most unusual, with its large rounded back. and intricate woodwork, they assigned the greatest value to. It is about 44 inches high to the top of the back and 33 inches wide from front of arm to front of arm. Like all these chairs, I find no identifying marks or code numbers on them anywhere. No labels identifying constructor, or point of origin. No chalked inventory numbers on the bottom. Not even a "how to care for" label. Of course Emanuel would have known. I of course don't know the type of wood they was sculpted.
It was definitely my mother's from 1959 on, and probably from shortly after her marriage in 1947. She might have inherited them from her maternal grandparents. Without knowing how old they are I can't really speculate on inheriting versus purchasing.
Other
Yes
Hi William,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
I'm sorry to say that the taste and fashion for this kind of furniture has long-since passed and it has a very modest fair-market value.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
A Colonial Revival style uphosltered and carved mahogany wing armchair
1920s-1940s
With tufted back and wings continuing into arms over a rounded seat with slip seat, all raised on tall spiral-twist legs, carved at the top. Floral upholstery allover.
44 inches high, 33 inches wide
PROVENANCE: inherited
$100-150*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
And it was nice talking to Emanuel and hearing that he remembered my mother and the last time they had redone the upholstery.
Hi William,
Glad to hear Emanuel remembered your mother.
Marble is still a nicely valued commodity; I don't see it in any of the photos attached but I would guess it would be a few to several hundred dollars based on the size and condition of the marble. I'm happy to appraise it if you submit a separate inquiry for it.
Cheers,
Delia
Well, Delia, I guess you had it right about the chair. I contacted the son of Emanuel Decorating and Upholstery. His father started the business in 1954 and after his death his son kept the business running for a few more years before ending Emanuel after 65 years. He was gracious enough to reply to me. He did not put it quite as harshly as "the taste and fashion for this kind of furniture has long-since passed." He said the the young people now buy low quality furniture on the cheap at places like Raymond and Flanigan and toss it after seven or eight years, while my mother cared for her living room set for 50 years. Our "throw-a-way" generation." Not as many buyers means he had to charge those he has more to stay in business.
He believes that in its prime he could have charged $1000 for the chair, featuring his work. "Everything old is new again," but by that time I'll have been long gone. Anyway, $1000 doesn't do much on Long Island.
Without releasing any proprietary information about appraisals, could you tell me if it is worth it to have the pink marble coffee table in the photos appraised? Parents bought it in the fifties after one of their children who will go unnamed broke the glass on top of the old coffee table. Unlike the sofa and chairs, to which I had a neutral opinion, I always thought that the pink marble was very pretty. And very heavy. But I've been poking around on the Internet and I don't see any pink marble (which led me to wonder if it was some other really some other stone), and low rectangular marble tables of any type are rare and not as expensive as I would have thought.