38 
House & Garden 
The rococo style of Louis 
XV affords one of the most 
exacting tests for the wood 
carver. This mirror frame 
was photographed “in the 
white” before finish was 
applied, and shows the fact 
that it is honest wood 
carving 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FURNITURE 
The Grades of Makes—H oods and Their Handling—Good and Bad Cabinet Making—The 
Maker's Integrity — Hardwood—When Furniture Bargains Pay 
MATLACK PRICE 
T HE careful examination of a great deal of 
furniture makes it apparent that there are 
important differences even as between two 
pieces of furniture of corresponding grade, sug¬ 
gesting to one who would buy carefully that 
some bases for appraisal might prove very 
valuable. 
Among the essential points which the writer 
intends to bring out here, no allusion will be 
found to historic styles, considered either with 
reference to their appropriateness or the ac¬ 
curacy of their stylistic rendering. The tech¬ 
nicalities enumerated cover points which exist 
irrespective of style, but associated, rather, with 
the grades of furniture. 
\\ hile there are a great many grades of 
furniture made and sold in this country, three 
broad divisions must suffice for our immediate 
survey; their designations, according to the 
parlance of the trade, being cheap, medium 
or good, and “custom.” 
The first division obviously includes, at its 
lower end, a vast output of outright worthless 
furniture, graded up to furniture which pos¬ 
sesses some degree of merit-—in design, if not 
in quality and construction. 
The first division includes, at its upper end, 
a great deal of very fine furniture, really too 
good to be designated “medium.” Perhaps it 
should be rated “good,” or “fine,” with the 
custom-made furniture called “super.” There 
is but a very short distance between the better 
makes of this “medium” group and the aver¬ 
age “custom” piece. The distinction, indeed, 
is one of trade phraseology rather than of 
actual merit or value. 
By “custom” furniture is meant that grade 
which is intended for a very limited market, 
and a market in which price competition does 
not exist to anything like the extent it exists 
in furniture of the first two classes. 
The real point of drawing these distinctions 
is to call attention to the frequently seen mis¬ 
take of judging a given piece of furniture by 
In overstuffed furniture 
it is especially necessary 
to rely upon the manu¬ 
facturer’s reputation be¬ 
cause the essential 
points of construction 
are hidden 
( Left) The antique 
feeling of this cabinet 
and the carefully exe¬ 
cuted finish cannot be 
done with speed or 
volume. It is typical 
of the best work 
(Right) Here is good 
construction — drawers 
and doors fit perfectly, 
hinges and hardware 
are applied in a work¬ 
manlike manner, mold¬ 
ings are well mitered 
