GUEST: This has come down
through six generations
of my family, from
Tiverton, Rhode Island.
Our family folklore has
always said that it was
a Goddard knee-hole desk.
APPRAISER: This is called
a bureau table. People
often mistakenly refer
to them as knee-hole
desks. It's not a desk.
It was made as a dressing
table, and this would
have graced the bedroom
of an extremely wealthy
18th-century patron. It was made
about 1770 to '80, and we can
tell that by the construction,
by the patina of the wood,
and also, it has the original
brass hardware, which
is helpful. So it is an
18th-century piece. It
does have some originality
issues. The lobe is broken
off of the drawer. Also, the
rear feet are replacements--
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And there's a support
that's been added across the
entire back. And also, this
door, this recessed-cover
door, appears to be an
old replacement. It's
not the same quality
as the rest of the piece, the
wood is a little bit different,
the lock is a replacement,
the hinges are not original.
In terms of where the piece was
made, you mentioned the Goddards
of Newport, famous
cabinetmakers. This is
a block-front piece,
the way the drawers are
blocked, was popular in Newport.
It was also popular in Boston.
If we look at the details
of the construction, this is
not consistent with Newport.
For example, Newport block-front
bureau tables have a blade
here above the top drawer,
and then a large molding. This
doesn't have that. They
have exposed dovetails
here. In Boston, they
covered it with a strip
of wood. And the blocking
of the front edge, that's
Boston. Newport, they
tend to be straight
across. The piece is made of
mahogany, and the secondary
wood is all white pine. If this
were made in Newport, we would
expect it to have poplar or
chestnut secondary woods, so
this piece was made in
Boston. If it were a
Goddard-Townsend piece, that
would bring it to a different
level. It's still a beautiful
piece of furniture, but
the value of what's
called "brown furniture"
in the industry, is
way down from where it
used to be. Particularly
pieces that are not perfect.
At auction, it would
probably have a $5,000
to $7,000 estimate.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: If this were in
perfect condition, even in
today's market, it would
bring at least $40,000
to $50,000 at auction.
GUEST: Wow, great, thank you.