Featured Do you restore? Or do you let a piece "tell it's story" as-is?

Those of you who've seen the bookcase thread in the Books Forum have seen a picture of this bookcase. I bought it the second I saw it, because I knew it was something special. This is what it looked like:

When browsing E-Bray one fine evening, I found another one that looked like this:

Clearly my bookcase had lost a key element, namely the crest over the center. To my mind, this was no small thing, even though because of the way the bookcase was designed, I hadn't realized anything was missing. So, at great cost and time, I found a magical wood carver out of state, and now my bookcase looks like this:

There can't be more than a handful of people in the U.S. that could do this level of work. Here's a closer look:

So what is your opinion? Was I too "anal" in getting this piece done? I know some people who would just leave the piece "as-is," happy to let it "tell it's story," even if a piece was missing. Still others would scoff at replacing the crest with anything but the original.

Me, I feel that it respects the artist's/craftsman's vision to get the piece as close to the original as possible. I also feel like, when it comes to selling the bookcase in the future, it will more than repay the cost of the crest, but that's a supposition on my part.

What say you??

 

I never would have thought it was missing the crest. Your carver did a wonderful job! LOVE it.

 

I think it's fabulous that you commissioned a replacement piece. Restores visual integrity in the most respectful way. You're very clever to have searched for and found someone whose talents were worthy of executing the project.

Debora

 

What is the point if the piece does not give you joy? Just disclose the restored element when selling.

 

If it looks "right" to you restored then who cares? I'd disclose if reselling, but otherwise pffft. I liked it better without, but that's just me. I generally leave things as they show up, but do restring broken necklaces and the like sometimes.

 

I thought that it looked fine when I didn't know anything was missing. But when the centrepiece was added it became obvious how much in need of it it was. A courageous decision that a buyer will appreciate. Will they want to know its history; I think not.

 

Agreed, and that's all that matters.

 

@Roaring20s ,you and @Bookahtoo obviously know me too well. That's kind of scary....Yikes!

Book, we were lucky to have the relative closeup photo of the missing piece from E-Bay. He worked from that, as well as some detailed measurements of the top of the bookcase and a sketch I made. Once he was done with the carving, another very talented friend used his wood finish tinting kit (he's an antique furniture dealer, among other things) to match the color. He ended up putting on 12 coats of shellac to get it just right.

 

I think you should do whatever makes you happy.

 

I agree here wholeheartedly, you could not unsee what you had discovered. Besides, you, your efforts and your money, along with the skills of a craftsman now add to the story of your piece. Your stewardship has become part of the story.

 

This is definitely happy-making for me!

I like the theoretical side of this: Is it ever a good idea to mess with a nice antique piece? Should you leave an antique alone? Does recreating a part of one improve it or detract?
I've shown you how I answer these questions, and it's interesting to see your answers as well!!

 

It’s beautiful!

I like to think our repairs will some day be looked back on as part of its history.

I love seeing old repairs on antiques, often made when the item was an antique (then) but now the repair itself is antique (another 100 years).

Someday your repair will be antique and part of the furniture’s history.

I’m sure somewhere a museum curator is cringing at my opinion. : -)

 

@Ghopper1924 Tell me if this makes sense. How do you know that the carving was indeed on your bookcase? Did you look at the top and see an impression or something else that showed where that carving had been? I know that in more modern furniture, you sometimes can buy a piece of furniture "with or without" a feature if you pay extra for the "with". Like @evelyb30, I liked it better without, but it looks sensational with the carving as well.

Did someone strip the bookcase that you found on line? The finish does not look as nice as yours and the drawer pulls look like someone polished them back to shiny brass. (or maybe it's a poor quality photo). If I had the right decor, I would lust after your bookcase, but not so much that orange-y looking one. In the end though, I think a restoration is always desirable for the generations to come to enjoy the furniture as it was made.

 

And I would like to add, bravo! on the way you arranged the books and other items inside the bookcase. I would need to have hired a consultant to get it to look that good!

 

I have found that those that buy, collect, deal, trade, preserve, and restore within a given antique sector have set their own community rules. Old movie posters are considered better when cleaned and linen mounted. Books of 100+ years are permitted to have beautiful third party binding, old cars can be rebuilt, repainted and often partially re-bodied, etc.

I have found in my limited scope of collecting that even within the sub categories of antique collecting, you will still always have the purists, the preservationists, and the restoration folks. Enjoy it, take care of it as best you can, so that it will outlast you.

 

LOL

 

Great posts, @ola402 !

Once I saw the one online, I looked closely at mine and discerned 2 narrow 3/16" diameter dowel holes, set back a bit from the front. One of them had cracked wider over time, and it was easy to look at them casually and think they were just age splits or wear of some kind. Once I knew what I was looking at, I could also discern discolorations in the finish where the old crest had once been, before it was "liberated" by a previous owner.

I agree about the one online. It looks to have been refinished, and the lighting doesn't help. If you want to see it, it's still on E-Bay if you look under "Pabst" under Antiques. The drawer pulls are actually wood rings, it's just the lighting that makes them look like brass.

And thanks for the kind words!