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192
The House in Good Taste
·
Elsie De Wolfe
156
The
antiques
the
average
American
householder
is
interested
in
are
the
old
mahogany,
oak
and
walnut
things
that
stand
for
the
oldest
period
of
our
own
particular
history.
It
is
only
the
wealthy
collector
who
goes
abroad
and
buys
masses
of
old
European
furniture,
real
or
sham,
who
is
concerned
with
the
merits
and
demerits
of
French
and
Italian
furniture.
The
native
problem
is
the
so-called
Colonial
mahogany
that
is
always
alleged
to
be
Chippendale
or
Heppelwhite,
or
Sheraton,
regardless!
There
must
be
thousands
of
these
alleged
antiques
in
New
York
shops
alone!
It
goes
without
saying
that
only
a
very
small
part
of
it
can
be
really
old.
As
for
it
having
been
made
by
the
men
whose
names
it
bears,
that
is
something
no
reputable
dealer
would
affirm.
The
Chippendales,
father,
son
and
grandson,
published
books
of
designs
which
were
used
by
all
the
furniture-makers
of
their
day.
No
one
can
swear
to
a
piece
of
furniture
having
been
made
in
the
workshops
of
the
Chippendales.
Even
the
pieces
in
the
Metropolitan
Museum
are
marked
"Chippendale
Style"
or
"In
the
Sheraton
manner,"
or
some
such
way.
If
the
furniture
is
in
the
style
of
these
makers,
and
if
it
is
really
old,
you
will
pay
a
small
fortune
for
it.
But
even
then
you
cannot
hope
to
get
more
than
you
pay
for,
and
you
would
be
very
silly
to
pay
for
a
name!
After
all,
Chippendale
is
a
sort
of
god
among
amateur
collectors
of
American
furniture,
but
among
more
seasoned
collectors
he
is
not
by
any
means
placed
first.
He
adapted
and
borrowed
and
produced
some
wonderful
things,
but
he
also
produced
some
monstrosities,
as
you
will
see
if
you
visit
the
English
museums.
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