Hints for Dating Antiques and Collectables
- Date letters were used on English silver from 1478.
- The wood screw was introduced in about 1660.
- The clock pendulum was invented in 1660.
- Walnut generally replaced oak in English furniture from about 1690.
- Cut glass was first produced in England in 1709.
- Mahogany generally replaced walnut in English cabinet making from about 1725.
- "Tears" (bubbles of air) in glass were used for decorative purposes between 1715 and about .1760.
- Soft paste porcelain production began in Chelsea in about 1745.
- Excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum began in 1748.
- Chippendale’s book "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director" was published in 1754.
- Blue jasperware was first produced in 1774.
- Knops (variously shaped swollen blobs of glass) were not used to decorate the stems of glasses after 1780.
- The monarch’s head was first used in silver hallmarks in 1784.
- The pontil mark, left on the base of a glass by the rod holding it during blowing, was never removed before 1745 and always removed after 1780.
- Ireland was granted free trade with Britain in 1780 and Irish glass production flourished from that date.
- Hepplewhite’s book "The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Guide" was published in 1788.
- Round machine-made nails replaced square hand-made nails from about 1790.
- Sheraton’s book "The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book" was published in 1791.
If you liked this item, please let others know:
