bigtop

I have been reproducing Queen Anne and Chippendale (mostly Philadelphia) for about 15 years - first as a hobby, now in my retirement, as a vocation. I learned from Gene Landon, whose work you may have seen in FWW. Gene and I have become good friends and while he is opinionated on the subject of period furniture, Gene is extremely generous of his time and talent. There are probably dozens of period woodworkers that he has helped get started in the field. There is no one alive who is better at looking at period pieces and puzzling out how they are put together.

I would like more exposure to period carving, beyond the ever-present shell. I agree with the person who recommends an article on carving the drop of a chippendale cabriole leg. I think that too often, people are intimidated by carving and other period embellishments unnecessarily. The desk pictured above is a good example. A nice Philadelphia piece would have a much more elaborate gallery and the prospect door is simply a blank board. The piece depends too much on the wood's elaborate grain for interest. Chair construction is another area of interest - how many people really understand how to put together a Chippendale chair? The angles are hard for the amateur, so the tendancy is for them to straighten the angle of the back legs.