Antique Tables
There are only a few types of old sideboards that need to be considered-though these are well worth consideration-but many types of tables, large and small, were used by our forefathers and have come down to us. Consequently we shall be able to touch upon the various types only briefly.
It will be interesting in this connection to trace the development of styles in chairs, as already outlined. Almost every form of old chair has its corresponding table. Some of the early seventeenth-century tables found their way to this country, but few of them are in existence now outside of the museums.
First there was the solid, heavy oak table, seldom carved, and usually long enough to accommodate a family at dinner. Then came the so-called drawing-table, with leaves at the ends, which drew out and were supported by folding braces. In both these types we find heavy, solid construction, with plain frames, sometimes turned legs, and heavy braces at the bottom. Tables of this type, used chiefly for dining, persisted until 1725, but the later ones have never had any vogue with collectors. Some smaller ones, with drawers, turned legs, and heavy under-braces, were made about 1700, when we occasionally find lighter, turned stretchers.
The oldest tables likely to be found in this country are the joined or wainscot tables, which correspond in style with the wainscot chairs. Far more interesting, however, is the thousand-legged or gate-leg table, a type which is still to be found, and the finding of which is always a delight to the collector. This was the fashionable dining-table from about 1650 to 1700, and the style belongs to the Jacobean period. They were usually round or oval in shape, or square with round corners, and had two or four leaves which were supported by gate-like legs that swung out from the main frame. When the leaves were dropped they occupied very little space. They were made of many kinds of wood-walnut, pine, maple, cherry, and occasionally cedar, in this country, but most commonly oak in England. Sometimes they were furnished with a drawer. The legs were turned, often delicately; the stretchers were usually flat. The feet were usually a round or flattened ball. They were made in decreasing numbers as late as 1740.
With the reign of William and Mary in England (1689-1 702) came the Dutch influence, and the forms of tables were altered, just as the chairs were. The cabriole leg became a feature. Veneering be-came popular, and various woods were used, such as cherry and maple. Plain card-tables of walnut veneer were introduced, and both small and large tables with round, oblong, square, and scalloped tops. The larger ones were used for dining, as the gate-leg table passed out of fashion. About 1715 the ball-and-claw foot was introduced a Chinese detail modified in Spain and Holland.
With the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) the cabriole leg was still further developed, as in chairs. From 1720 to 1750 tea-tables and card-tables made in cherry and other woods, with four cabriole legs, became very popular, and the first tea-tables with a central post and short tripod legs were introduced. There were also tripod candle-stands for the bedroom, about four feet high, and with small tops.
Meanwhile, in the first half of the eighteenth century, tables were being made in New England, some of which have survived the ravages of time. These were mostly small tables, usually with tripod legs after the English fashion, with oval, round, square, or octagonal tops. They were made of oak, pine, and maple, and even of chestnut, beech, and ash. Walnut was much used in Virginia and Pennsylvania. The same types, with slight changes, were made here later of mahogany.
About 1750 in England appeared the handsomest of the tripod tables and stands-the pie-crust. Mahogany had now become popular, after japanned furniture had had a brief vogue, and nearly all of the pie-crust tables were of that wood. A very few were of cherry. The tops usually tipped, and were made round, with edges delicately scalloped, and raised in a molding effect. The feet were often of the ball-and-claw type, and the pedestals and knees were sometimes beautifully carved. These pie-crust tables are seized upon with avidity by discriminating collectors and command a good price in the shops. Some of the best of the carved mahogany examples are to be found in Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as in New England and New York.
There were also plain-top tea-tables made both in England and in America from 1750 to 1825, with tripod stands, and with both ball-and-claw and plain feet. The tops tipped usually, and were made square, round, oval, and octagonal. They were of all sizes, and mahogany, cherry, and other woods were used.
About 1750 serving-tables were made with a leaf that pulled out, and dining-tables that could be slightly extended. By the latter part of the century dining-tables were made with various methods of extension, though the modern sliding method is a comparatively recent invention.