Carpet rockers were in vogue from around 1860-1880. I was hesitant at first because of the black/gold finish on it, but after poking around on the inet, I found several pictures of very similar rockers with the same finish, original to that period. If a piece like that happened into an antique shop, a seller would of course without further documentation and a quick google know the period in which these were made. It would be very easy, knowing they were made as early as this to present or interpret the earliert date as the age of the rocker. So really, it would likely have been anywhere in that timeframe. The spindle style is vague enough that alone would make it hard to date any closer. As said, it doesn't appear to be anything other than loomed. I have seen very similar designs in other pictures of almost identical rockers with almost identical carpet patters. The probability it is loomed doesn't mean it can't be as early as 1860. Narrow loomed carpet was available long before that. Is the covering original? I dunno but I believe it's totally possible. Will it hurt the value of the rocker if replaced? Given the condition of the only arm covered in it, possibly not. What I would do, however, is to carefully remove the pieces, and put them away so that if you do decide to ever sell the piece, they are available to the new owner. Then I'd replace the carpeting with new so the piece would be functional. It's your decision. A lot of repros of carpet rockers were made, btw, offshore. But given the carpet style and condition, I don't think this is one, unless someone actually used old material to cover it with at some time. General wear and tear on the rocker bottoms should help you identify that issue. How far off the floor is the seat? It's hard to tell by this photograph the size of the unit. Is it a child's rocker? That may impact value. I just gave a relative a precious little antique child's rocker and they are quite collectable in this area.......more so than an adult rocker. My guess on age, just from the photo is anywhere up to late 1800s and that opinion is worth what you paid for it. ;-) It's a cute piece.

Easily worth the buck you paid! Is it wood and real caning or plastic? It's a copy of an old Victorian rocker....or maybe the real thing, restored, but not likely. How about a closer look? Linda C

Yes, we learned that lesson the hard way...the very hard way. We had a wonderful collection of Billiant Period cut glass that'd we'd purchased in the Denver area at Denver prices back in the early 80's. Moved to New England and wanted to switch from our more Victorian furnishings to early American. So, we autioned off literally everything we owned. The cut glass did horribly and we didn't understand. Now, we know that Billiant cut glass is everywhere here and you can buy a tumbler for $30. Oh bummer!!! Won't have to pay more than $150 for a great decanter or pitcher here either and they were hundreds more in Denver. That's one of the reasons antique dealers from all around the country used to make annual pilgramages to New England for inventory. Because there's more here...prices are lower. Supply/Demand issue. Now, with the market off 'cause of Pottery Barn & less product available here...dealers aren't making the trip anymore. We've had lots of dealers fail since 911...the market just hasn't recovered. It will though...it always does. Antiques are cyclical just like real estate. The antique market tends towards ten year cycles and we've been in the dumps for four years so, probably, have a ways to go before things look up. Great buying opportunties around though.... So, yes...markets are regional. In Virginia, obviously, the closer you are to D.C. the higher price you'll probably realize. But, they're going to be fairly common there as well.

If it where an antique, and upholstered, then it would almost undoubtedly be a Collignon chair. If it were, then there would be a company mark on the underside of the seat, along the back of the seat frame, or a plate on the back of the seat frame. If there is no mark, it is not a Collignon, and I'm not familiar with any other makers that upholstered their folding chairs (seat and back). I'm not personally familiar with Robin wood works, but there are a whole slew of, what we like to call, "container companies" with similar names. They are generally cheap imports/repro's etc that only sell an item in increments of containers. :-) Happy Wood Works, Sunshine Wood Works, Smile Wood Works, to name a few. All told, and without seeing it, I would lay my money down on a repro chair as well. :-)