Bargain Hunt: The Spotter’s Guide to Antiques by Karen Farrington

Author:Karen Farrington [Farrington, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2022-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

A child’s chair was something of a feature of Victorian times too, and Caroline had several when her own children were growing up. Small but sometimes ornate, chairs like these were often used to display collections of dolls or teddy bears. Today, there’s little appetite for them.

‘Times have changed,’ she acknowledges. ‘Houses tend to be minimalist now and there are not as many doll and teddy collectors as there were. Children’s chairs aren’t useful, long-term items.’

Victorian furniture tends to reflect a melting pot of styles and influences. Walnut made a reappearance, with slivers of machine-cut veneer making it an option for craftsmen again after an absence of a century or so. One item of Victorian furniture that’s largely sunk from view is the loo table, with a round or circular top likely covered by walnut veneer. It was made for the card game Lanterloo, also known as loo, and had a mechanism that allowed the playing surface to be tipped upright, for easy storage. Lanterloo – a game of trumps – had been popular since the seventeenth century, but its star dimmed in Victorian times, although loo tables were still used for breakfast or in halls. A Bargain Hunt team purchased a loo table for £75, and it sold at auction for £100, giving them a 33 per cent profit margin.

There are a number of made-to-last Victorian objects that do warrant a place in today’s homes, including bow-front chests of drawers and large wardrobes because both hold plenty of clothing and cost very little. And thanks to its practical application, Caroline believes a passion for old-style furniture is finally catching on again.

‘I’m excited to see a few young people buying pieces of brown furniture,’ she says. ‘It is so much cheaper than having furniture built-in or flat-packed, and, if they change their minds, they can sell it again.’

Alongside higher-end furniture, the humble pine wooden box has remained popular. These have long been a feature of furniture history, with the earliest examples dug out from one solid piece of timber. Indoors, flat-topped chests could be used for storage and seating. Domed-topped examples were chosen to repel the rain. It was in Elizabethan times that chests became adorned with intricate carving and might now include drawers, making the basic six-planked box suitable for castles as well as more humble homes. Later still, chests were used as trunks as early emigrants moved around the British Empire and across America.

The popularity of the pine chest is apparent in today’s antiques market. One Bargain Hunt team espied an example at an antiques fair and were not deterred, despite its well-worn appearance. The box was bought for £15, with expert Caroline Hawley pointing out the presence of a section for candles built into the side because they deterred insect infestations. It sold at £45, three times the amount the team paid for it.

Usually, furniture commands a higher price when it is compact and useful. However, rules are made to be broken and there’s a substantial grey area today, as Bargain Hunt buyers have revealed.

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