I have an antique piece of furniture which I'm trying to identify. The only thing so far, that is "unusual", is the wood joints. They look like half circles (in sequence of course)with a dowell in the middle of each half circle. Would someone be able to tell me the name of it and perhaps a bit of the history?
I appreciate any info. I can get in this regards. Thanks in advance.
Chantal
replied to: Chantal
Replied to: I have an antique piece of furniture which I'm trying to...
It is called the "pin and cove dovetail." Around 1850, when America (and Europe) began to mechanize, master woodworkers were falling from grace rather quickly; there simply weren't enough of them to keep up with the demand for furniture. An American invention, and North American manufacturing's answer, was the pin and cove, a mechanized method which could be cut more quickly from a pattern by someone with a lower level of skill. Not actually dovetails, pin and cove only lasted about 25 years or so... roughly 1870 to 1895. By then, "router" improvements and assembly line interchangeable drawer parts were cranking out picture perfect machined dovetails, and were firmly entrenched in the furniture industry. The whole Arts and Crafts movement was about the displaced master woodworkers taking back their craft from the machine. Still, pin and cove has a certain historical "charm" if you will, and it's a great way to date some late Victorian and Eastlake furniture. If you google pin and cove dovetail, you will find alot of examples.
Brad
