Expert: Eileen Cronk - 2/11/2004

Question
I wrote earlier in the week about 2 pieces that came to me from my great Grandfather. A vanity and chest of drawer. The pulls on both pieces have a "grape" design and you were very helpful with the info you provided as to how best to go about stripping these tough pieces down. I also asked about finding any matching pieces and you told me to look on the back of the mirror for a date to give me somewhere to start . There was no date I could find but on both the vanity and chest there were some stencils. Do these mean anything? The vanity was A-G11-8-?  Chest was A-G11-10-A. I assume since they start the same they are a part of a set but does that mean there could be 10 pieces in the set? How exciting if there are! Thanks again for any help you can provide.

Answer
Hi Again Melissa
The numbers could certainly mean there are more pieces in the set.
The numbers are often found on factory produced furniture and are used for identity purposes by the factory.
Let say the factory produces 100 different items of furniture. Each piece has its own number which is used for ordering and inventory purposes, and certainly it could
indicate sets as in the case of yours.
Good luck in all your furniture restorations..its fun isn't it? And never hesitate to ask for help.
Regards as always Eileen