Nothing
later than the furniture of the Eighteenth Century is included in the
term, "old furniture." There are many fine cabinet makers in the early
Nineteenth Century, but from them until the last decade the horrors that
were perpetrated have never been equaled in the history of household
decorations.
I fancy the furniture of the mid-Victorian era will never be coveted by
collectors, unless someone should build a museum for the freakish
objects of house furnishing. America could contribute much to such a
collection, for surely the black walnut era of the Nineteenth Century
will never be surpassed in ugliness and bad taste, unless--rare
fortune--there should be a sudden epidemic of appreciation among
cabinet-makers, which would result in their taking the beautiful wood in
the black walnut beds and wardrobes and such and make it over into
worth-while things. It would be a fine thing to release the mistreated,
velvety wood from its grotesqueries, and give it a renaissance in
graceful cabinets, small tables, footstools, and the many small things
that could be so easily made from huge unwieldy wardrobes and beds and
bureaux.
The workmen of to-day have their eyes opened. They have no excuse for
producing unworthy things, when the greatest private collections are
loaned or given outright to the museums.
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