A game of cards or a boardgame is still the perfect way to spend some quality time with your family- especially on a rainy day! In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, card and games tables were one of the most fashionable pieces of furniture in the home. Often the focus of a social event, they were brought out into the middle of a room and when they were no longer needed could be discreetly placed against the wall as an occasional table. Tables for cards and games such as chess and backgammon grew in popularity from the late sixteenth century.

When buying antique furntiure it is important to look out for pieces stamped with the mark of their maker, to help date and vaule a piece. They may be stamped in a variety of ways and often in more than one place. In France a strict guild corporation insisted on stamping and verifying every single piece of furntiure that was made. Britain did not have such strict regulations and so it is unusual and exciting to find antique British furniture that has been stamped by its maker. Often you find quite crude marks impressed on earlier pieces of furniture. In the 18th and 19th Century most marked furntiure had more sophisticated ink or hand-written inscriptions on paper labels or they were elegantly incised into the wood. The cabinet-makers Gillows of Lancaster and London are well-known for having correctly marked their furniture. They normally punched their stamp 'Gillows.Lancaster' onto the inside of drawers or onto the bottom of the piece. In fact the signatures and names of Gillows' workmen are pencilled on much of their furniture from this period! At Reindeer Antiques we are very fortunate to have some pieces of British furniture that still retain their original Maker's Mark.

Towards the end of the Seventeenth Century the highly skilled art of veneering rose in popularity in British furniture-making. An expensive and technical skill, veneering is when thin sheets of wood are glued onto a carcase of wood in order to create striking decorative surfaces. These veneers can be made in a variety of materials including walnut, ivory, tortoiseshell, mother of pearl, and other exotic woods such as ebony, rosewood and satinwood. For information on how to identify these woods please take a look at our blog.

Explore the Commonly Found Woods in Antique English Furniture blog examining timber types and craftsmanship.

To the untrained eye lacquer and japanning can appear to be the same. However japanning is a European imitation of lacquer and is less refined.

Explore our buyer's guide to antique desks and writing tables.

We always stock a large selection of antiques which are useful for decorating a bedroom.

Antique Furniture Care, Use of beeswax, advice on useful products and Antique Furniture Restorers

The first thing to consider when buying an antique chair is whether it is comfortable. Some antique chairs are too small for the modern body and others catch you in the wrong part of the back. So make sure you sit in a chair before buying it.

What to look for when buying an antique tripod table. Whether a piecrust, a dished top or one with carved claw and ball feet.

Details to consider when evaluating the worth of a chest of drawers including types of handle and feet.

The importance of patina in the most highly prized pieces of English Antique Furniture.