It is with a very sad heart (no pun intended) that I give you an update on the genuine antique Victorian heart-shaped wicker set I posted about a while ago.
It was a three-piece set that included a settee, a woman’s chair, and the companion gentleman’s chair I posted about, but there’s so much to tell; I will do it in several installments.
Here’s the original post:
Victorian heart-shaped wicker Friday feature
And here’s the background information that never made it into the post:
Neil and Patty Norman from central Florida had contacted me through my wicker and chair caning column at AllExperts.com (*update-website closed in 2017) about an old wicker set they just purchased for $20!
Patty later mentioned that she and Neil were big-time bargain hunters, although they had just started collecting a few months before.
They were trying to raise money for a family reunion cruise for Patty’s mom, who was turning 80.
The couple had three months to raise the $1,200 and were well on their way to achieving their goal when they stumbled on this wicker set.
Neil wanted to paint it white right away, thinking it would sell better that way, but Patty wanted to consult someone to establish a value first. She thought the pieces might be antique and command a high price.
So here’s where I come in…through my column on AllExperts.com and all the pictures Patty sent, I was excited to see was an original antique Victorian wicker heart-shaped set.
It looked to be from either the Heywood Brothers, Wakefield Rattan Company, or from the later merged (1897) companies of the Heywood Brothers and Wakefield Company, commonly known as Heywood-Wakefield wicker.
Since this wicker set had its original finish, I advised them not to paint it because painting over the original finish substantially diminishes its value.
Hate to leave you hangin’, but watch for the next week’s installment of the Victorian Heart-Shaped Wicker Set, Part 3 on Wednesday Wicker Wisdom to find out more…
What are your thoughts about this blog post?
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Happy Weaving, until next time!
I have an original set from Upstate New York that I believe in almost 100 years old. I have a settee, rocker, stationary chair, desk with chair and a magazine rack. It has been appraised at $2600 and I am wanting to sell the set. Any suggestions?
Diane,
You could set up an account on eBay or even Etsy to try and sell the wicker set or you could check with your local antique dealers to see if they’d be interested. Of course, there’s the old-fashioned way of taking out an ad in your local newspaper’s classified ads and/or an estate sale or garage sale. How about the appraiser that you used, did you ask them for suggestions?
There are a couple of wicker restoration specialists listed in my Furniture Repair Directory™ in the Wicker category that frequently buy and sell wicker, so you could check with them, also. Good luck on the sale of your pieces!