It
is important to understand the term craftsmanship
if the current and future value of your investment in furniture is
important to you. As in the 18th century, there
are many furniture makers producing a wide
selection of furniture forms of varying design and quality. For
most collectors it is difficult to determine which of these
craftsmen or pieces is better than another.
Given the information age in which we live, knowing
to use “through” dovetails on a chest or to use “split wedge”
construction on a Windsor chair is not a mystery.
While D.R.Dimes faithfully reproduces the finest examples of
tiger maple, maple, & cherry early American furniture,
like D.R. Dimes there are many fine furniture makers
who produce furniture using original joinery techniques. In most
cases there is little chance that their furniture will come apart
and in virtually all instances the furniture will outlast the
low-grade furniture produced by most major manufacturers.
What then makes one piece
of 18th
Century
reproduction furniture better than another? Design!
Think about the antique collector’s choice when
deciding on the right piece of antique furniture to invest in. It
is common to have two similar period pieces, made in the same
region, in the same time frame and with the same tools and
techniques but have widely disparate values. Given similar
condition and provenance, which are not issues in reproductions,
the piece of superior design is always more desirable and
therefore more valuable. If you read one of the definitive books
on antique furniture, The New Fine Points of Furniture by
Albert Sack, you will discover design, proportion and finish are
paramount in evaluating period furniture.
Reproduction furniture
is no different.
Douglas R. Dimes has spent a lifetime making
reproduction early American furniture and has been
commissioned by some of the finest early American museums in the
country. It is his relentless scholarship that is the foundation
of his craftsmanship. Nearly forty years of study has resulted in
an understanding of which pieces are the finest examples of
early American furniture, and his
disciplined
approach to his craft insures every piece is made to his standard.
Americans have collected D.R.DIMES furniture
since the mid 1960’s. Over that time, many pieces have resold for
significantly more than the original purchase price. In 1995 an
important private antique collection was auctioned by Christie’s
of New York City. The entire collection was 18th century
American decorative arts (including one piece that sold
for almost 2.5 million dollars) except for a handful of
reproduction pieces marked D.R.DIMES, 20th century. A
D.R. DIMES Gilpin comb-back Windsor chair sold
for $1,610, or 8 times its original price of $200 in 1980. Other
pieces sold for five times original purchase price.
While we make no specific claim of future value,
historically D.R. DIMES furniture holds its value and continues to
be collected by some of the most discerning furniture
connoisseurs in the country.
The D.R. DIMES brand ensures a piece of
impeccable design, historical accuracy and lasting value.
