Thanks for all of the dialogue and insight. I bought this desk for $100. I find it to be perfect size for my repair and restoration work, both for pocket watches and antique fans. I find that it has an interesting vintage feel to it while at the same time quite roomy and functional for my needs. The fans : Actually, there are no Emerson fans in that photo (amazing since Emersons are indeed my favorite!) The one on the desk is a GE Whiz that I restored this past weekend. The ones on the ground are a large R&M and a couple more GEs. (See my link below for my personal blog to see some of these fan restorations) Thanks again for the info on the desk. Heck for $100, I cannot even hardly get some Sauder junk from Target. I think it has worked out very well. Cheers. Here is a link that might be useful: GE Whiz Fan Restoration

My guess is somewhere between 1890-1910, and it looks art nouveau because it is. The 'carving' looks so fine because it's really moulded gesso. The main mirror may or may not have been replaced. Check the depth of reflection. If it's original, the reflection should be deep and the piece rather heavy. I'm suspicious because of the degradation of the mirror tiles compared to the quality of the main pane. I've seen one similar mirror advertised, with the tiles in much better condition, and the owners were asking around $200. I can see a French influence in it, but so did a lot of pieces from that era. You didn't give us a lot of information, and I very well could be way off base judging from just a picture, but the mirror tiles kept niggling at me because I have a picture frame from that era with the same decoration and I think it's a pretty close call.

The two 'master' chairs are indeed from a different set. (But I LOVE them. They are sooooo sturdy and comfortable - everyone wants to sit in them! and they have great character) I also think they're made of mahogany, not walnut like the other chairs. But the cane back chairs have carving on the legs that is identical to the feet of the sideboards. All upholstery has been replaced multiple times from looking at the underside of the chairs - I also suspect the caning is not original, but it is doubled and is very heavy grade caning. Sideboards have carved mouldings identical to the mouldings around the edge of the table. *shrugs* Even if the chairs are from a later time, they match well with it. Don't suppose anyone has any ideas on the actual age and origin of the larger pieces? I've looked all over the internet, and I've had one person from Europe suggest they're from the 1930's, 40's, or 50's and made in America, which I have to disagree with. American pieces made during the great depression era aren't large, they aren't heavy, and typically don't have the nice veneer work on them. People simply couldn't afford that sort of furniture at that time. I have several pieces from that era, they're pretty common in this part of the U.S. 1940's ushered in WWII; the ability to manufacture pretty furniture was eclipsed by building airplanes and war machines. 1950's pieces don't tend to have the thick cuts of wood for a carcass - the table top alone is just over an inch thick, same for the tops of the sideboards. They also didn't typically use mortise and tenon construction for things like mouldings around the edges of furniture. I have yet to see any American furniture from any of those decades that have wooden knobs. They usually have brass or brass plated pulls. European pieces tend to have brass hinges; the sideboards I have do have brass hinges, whereas American furniture has iron or steel. I guess I'm just going through process of elimination now. LOL The style is so eclectic, yet not as awkward and top-heavy as Victorian pieces, that I'm led to believe it might be late (very late) Edwardian - which would put it being made in the mid to late 1900's, possibly even early 20's. One other clue to its possible age: It has a servants bell underneath at the area that would be occupied by someone sitting immediately to the left of the head of the table. It was an electric buzzer type thing, with a shred of the original sheathing left around what remains of the cord and it is a woven fabric. Actual copper of the cord looks dangerously thin - as in not up to modern electric standards. The buzzer appeared to be made of Bakelite, but also appears to be added later as I removed it and the wood beneath is lighter, but not by much. It is held on with flat head screws. It came with three leaves, and it will expand just enough for the three of them. The wood has shrunk so they don't fit tightly against one another, you can see right through to the floor in some places, but the moulding still meets at the edges. It has dowels/pegs on the underside of the frame to 'stop' the table at the correct length. I haven't measured it with all three of the leaves yet, but I do know I'll have to have a table cloth that's 70x120, if not larger. Also! The leaves do not have a metal tab system to lock them into place! Or the dowel and tabs like you see on modern pieces! It has carved wooden, half circle 'tongues' which are about a quarter inch thick. They insert into companion slots carved into the next leaf. They must be inserted in order or they don't fit together at all. Each leaf is marked for order of insertion with a scratched roman numeral: I, II, and III. I believe the veneer to be of walnut, as does the antiques dealer/appraiser friend of ours that looked it over this last weekend. He has been in the business for 30 years, and he's never seen anything like them himself. All he could do is confirm they're quality pieces and were a good investment. :-) I have not inspected the underside of the stretcher as it is just too heavy to flip onto its side.

Nice satinwood accents and banding inlays. Definitely better than the current crop of institutional furniture. There were really cool pieces in the Brookings Institution after WWII as well. I would like a better pic of the detail where you can see the end grain transitioning into the tabletop just where you can see a glue joint. Right now I would have to say by default it's veneer, until I can see the seam in the end grain and the face grain aligned. Very light mahogany, where it's clear enough to tell (legs and apron). Casey