Help with this desk Please

[macandjenny]

Hello to all. My name is David and I live in Sydney, Australia. An elderly American friend of mine owns 2 pieces of furniture. We are told they are 'American Period'. They have a very interesting provenance. They were owned by William B Mayo who lived in Detroit and then 'willed' to my friend on his death. Mayo was a friend of, and the Chief Power engineer to Henry Ford (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_B._Mayo ). As an aside, he was also great mates with Lindberg. Indeed, Lindberg stayed with him for the week straight after his Atlantic crossing!

But I digress. Would you be so kind as to have a look at the attached. The desk is supposed to be Honduras mahogany.  Any ideas on period/age/wood and maybe even value(?) would be very very much appreciated. I thank you in anticipation for your time. I have posted a photo of the chair in the relevant forum also.
Kind regards
David 

 

[sbachner]

Can't help much, but the pediment, at least, is venerred.  Also, the wood appears to be curly.  I think this was more common in maple, but certainly also found in mahogany.

 

[dkeller_nc]

David - The wood, at least the veneer, is definitely figured mahogany.  It's not really possible to tell whether it's cuban mahogany or honduran mahogany (nor does it really matter to either the value or the workability in the case of a needed repair).

What I -think- you have is a late 19th century Victorian "colonial revival" desk and chair.  Both the desk and the chair exhibit combinations of styles that did not exist in colonial and early federal-period America.  At first, I thought you might have had a "repurposed" high-boy base with a newer desk section on top, but there are inconsistencies in the style of the base that suggest that ball&claw feet were installed on what would have been a drawer/case style associated with 1840's or 1850's America.

In any event, I think you've got a nice old desk and chair that's usable pieces of furniture.  It's more than likely got little or no collector's value, with the exception if it's got a label by a relatively well-known late 19th century American furniture firm, though this is unlikely.  However, as always it's impossible to give an accurate assessment from a picture over the web.  An examination by a knowledgeable antiques expert in-person is the only way to be really sure.