House and Garden 
produced by varying the amount of pigment in the 
varnish until the color glows through the antiquing. 
On medallions and all painting extended over a 
fairly large surface the antiquing solution must be 
rapidly brushed on and then 
blended with a sable blender. The 
garish colors take on a golden age 
and mellowness that cannot be pro¬ 
duced in any other way. Some 
manufacturers of satinwood furni¬ 
ture use old tones in the original 
painting but their productions have 
a chalky, dead look and lack the lus¬ 
ter of decoration painted first in 
clear color and afterwards antiqued. 
When the mummied varnish is dry, 
cabinet-makers take the work in 
hand again and polish the surface 
until it glows. The process is an 
extremely difficult one but the 
prices obtained make it worth while 
and there is always a market for 
work well done. 
I recall one incident in connec¬ 
tion with a very beautiful cabinet 
which will serve to illustrate the 
risks that manufacturers of antiques 
have to run. The cabinet was 
placed in the showroom and was 
sold the very morning it left the 
cabinet-maker’s hands. In the 
afternoon another purchaser ap¬ 
peared and in less than a week we were making no 
fewer than seven copies of it. I made excuses, for 
not shipping them at once and by increasing the 
working force managed to get each cabinet off in a 
short time. Of course there is the danger of people 
comparing their prizes and such things must be 
taken into consideration, but almost always the 
purchasers live many miles from one another and 
never meet. 
In shipping a satinwood table one day a medallion 
was badly scratched and the owner came down 
in a flurry, “Oh, it is terrible,” 
said she “that priceless table is 
ruined.’’ I asked her to send it back 
and let me engage an artist to touch 
it up, so with great reluctance and 
many misgivings on having to let 
it go out of her sight she consented. 
It is needless to state that the same 
man who painted the original medal¬ 
lion scraped it off and did it over 
again. I he fair customer was com¬ 
pelled to admit, although much 
against her will,that she could not see 
the scratch but I could not convince 
her that the table was as good as 
new, or rather, old. 
A complete list of the deceptions 
practised would fill a volume and prove 
an appalling record of falsehood and 
double dealing. 
Some of the more common as well 
as some of the most clever methods 
employed to embarrass one’s judg¬ 
ment have been touched upon above, 
and yet notwithstanding all that has 
been said and written, it would seem 
that the mind of the average collector 
refuses to assimilate the pertinent facts 
clearly set forth. People will continue to buy alleged 
antiques as long as manufacturers put them on the 
market, for the thought that a piece of furniture is a 
reproduction takes away half its charm; but when a 
safi'ron-hued bill of sale is revealed upon opening the 
secret drawer of an ancient secretary, remember that 
the coffee may still be damp upon it. 
MAHOGANY AND GILT 
MIRROR 
I76 
