Expert: Eileen Cronk - 4/18/2006

Question
I am trying to buy a rolltop desk. the ones that have been refinished and are old(I am told) look very nice. eye cathing.
Does striping an older desk say 1890-1910 diminish its value. ?
I don't want to resell but i don't want to commit a faux pax either.
Thanks

also How in the heck can we as a buyer establish the proper age of an article/

Chris Andrews

Answer
Hi Chris
Nice to hear from you.
I must say Chris this is one of the most interesting question I have had.
On the surface I could answer the first question with a "yes", and the second one with "you can't", and leave it at that, but I think you want a better answer than that.
So the answer to your first question is of course yes it decreases the value to remove the finish on a very old piece of furniture, but then if you think about it you would ask yourself this..Who in there right mind would remove a perfectly good finish from an antique? The answer should be no one. So we can usually assume the finish was replaced because the original one was in awful condition or someone over the years painted the piece. And it usually takes a lot of years to ruin the finish on these old desks.
And this leads me to your next question of telling the age.
My brief answer to that was "you can't" to which I will add, unless you have had many years experience looking at old furniture and even then you cannot pinpoint the exact year an item was made thats why you see the word "circa 1890" which means "made around 1890" on old articles that are for sale.
If the finish has been replaced, in "most" cases we can assume the piece is old or "older". Once again, who in their right mind would pay someone to refinish a newer desk then pass it off as an antique.
The desk you are thinking about buying is a huge job to refinish. I have done several of them over the years and its costly for the customer.
You did not mention if this was an antique dealer you were buying from, but I would hope that if it is and he is telling you this desk is 1890-1910 and sold in refinished condition that he is being truthful.
I do not think he would want to be caught lying if he's a reputable dealer.
And never depend on word of mouth from a private sale.
I am in Canada and old roll top desks rarely come up for auction anymore.
When they do they bring in $1000.00 to $1200.00 refinished or otherwise.
I think if you pay fair market value today for your desk, you will not lose out down the road if you decide to sell. And this goes for both original finish and refinished in the case of these desks.
Hope this has shed some light for you Chris, thank you for a great question.
Kindest Regards
Eileen