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Brass hardware for period furniture


Wm. R. Robertson

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Unfortunately this is not a catalog of scale period hardware.... It is full size. So you may wonder why is this important? Well often when we see a photo of a piece of furniture and we see a little bit of the hardware showing. This shows you what the whole piece would look like. Keep in mind in the 18 th c. Almost all brass hardware came from England and their product line was somewhat limited, this catalog by Londonderry Brasses Ltm. pretty well mimics the brass catalogs of the period.

Remember, you can't make a good miniature of something if you don't know what the real one looked like.

Enjoy....

http://www.londonderry-brasses.com/BrowseMiniCatalog.html

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Thank you for the link Bill.

I found this online the other day, and thought it would be cool to have a collection like this hanging on my workshop wall, time to start collecting.

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Thanks Bill for posting this life-size hardware link...I will add it to my favorites.  Does anyone else have any more links for period hardware? I will study the catalog, as I am looking for some 3/8" offset hinges for my life-size embroidered casket project.

 

Elga, I like the hardware "sampler".   Once a stitcher, always a stitcher!

 

Tamra/Indiana

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  • 7 months later...

I forgot about them, I have that catalog. I had them custom make brasses for a highboy I own full size. It was made by The late Robt. Baker who was one of the finest craftsman/artists I have ever known. This was made from the most wonderful tiger maple. He never quite finished the piece and even after all these year I can't get myself to drill holes in the drawer front and mount the hardware. There is just something keeping me from doing that. The piece sits in my bedroom and I use it....... He copied it from one in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

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Maybe one day you will just get up and do it, at least you are using it, do you mind sharing a photo, it sounds like a wonderful piece.

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I meant too in the original post but got distracted... This is the view from my pillow.

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A work of art...I think you need to take courage and install the hardware, I am sure Robt. Baker would have liked somebody to finish it, it is such an awesome piece!

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Bill,

 

Good afternoon.  Thank you for posting this.  Also, thank you for the great quote that's so true.

 

"Remember, you can't make a good miniature of something if you don't know what the real one looked like."

 

                                                  -  William Robertson

 

I'll this to the quotes I've collected for over 40 years.

 

Patrick

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Regarding full size hinges. There is a store Vintage Hardware, in Port Townsend, WA (they used to be in California) that sells reproduction hardware as well as some original antiques. They also sell some low end stuff but don't let that put you off as much of their reproduction hardware for furniture and doors is excellent quality. Of course you can usually tell by the price which is the really good stuff. In addition to architectural related items they have some marine related items since Port Townsend is a historic registered Victorian Sea Port and it has a large shipyard with ongoing restorations of old wooden ships.

 

The company is family owned. The wife is from China so of course is fluent in the language. They privately own their own foundry in China where they make the brass castings for their reproduction hardware. The husband is very talented at making the wax masters finished to perfection. They will do custom reproduction work.

 

If you get to Port Townsend stop in the store to see their private museum of Art Deco Era lighting fixtures. It is really worth seeing if you like the era. I spent some time there helping to rewire some of the fixtures for the exhibit.

 

Website with catalog

http://www.vintagehardware.com/index.php

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