Price This Antique
Furniture Joint Construction in Approximate Years
Hand-cut Dovetail been around since Biblical times till about 1860 in America, but continued in Europe into the 1900s.
Jacobean Period - 1 single dovetail 3-4" wide.
William & Mary and Early Queen Anne Period - 2 dovetails 2-2 1/2" wide & about 1/2" long.
Middle of Queen Anne to Early Victorian - 4-6 dovetails, 3 quarters of an inch to 1" wide at the outer ends.
New England Cabinetmakers - less flaring than New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania.
Duncan Phyfe - are the same size, finely cut & have regularity.
Machine-cut Dovetail 1855-present
6-8 dovetails, small & have regularity.
Pin and Cove/Knapp 1871-1905 Strictly American
Keyhole/French Dovetail 1890s-present
Butt Joint been around since Biblical times.
Rabbet Joint been around since Biblical times.
Mortise and Tenon handmade until 1840s, machine-made after that. Still made today.
17th & Early 18th Century - tenons 2-4" wide & fastened with 2 or 3 wooden pegs driven into holes bored through the joint.
After the introduction of glue around 1725, the tenons became narrower & pinning with pegs was frequently omitted. The exceptions were joints of upright & cross members of secretary, linen press & cupboard doors, some tables (tavern sort), & chairs. With the latter, legs & seat rail joints will be found pinned with 2 visible pegs until the end of the Chippendale period.
Dowel Joint been around since Biblical times.
Dovetail Joint
Butt Joint
Mortise and Tenon Joint
Dowel Joint