Recognizing Old Andirons
A antique "picker" bought a pair of brass andirons from a Rochester, N.Y. house for less than $100 a few years back. He left them on another dealer's front porch overnight until an auctioneer could pick them up. The picker was in a state on shock on May 27, 1988 when the andirons brought $18,000. If you know what to look for, buying old brass andirons is one of the easiest ways to make a great buy while scouting for your favorite antiques.
In the second half of 18th century England, coal replaced wood as the major household fuel. That's because they had cut down most of their trees. Ooops! Here, in eastern America, we wouldn't chop our thick forests bare for another eighty years. So, while the English made brass fronted coal grates, we made andirons. Some of the brass andirons fashioned by braziers James Byers, Daniel King, Paul Revere and his apprentice William C. Hunneman, Richard Wittingham, John Baily, John Molineux, Edward Smylie, J Stimson, John Clark, John and James Davis, Thomas Brooks and others are representative of the very best in original American design and workmanship. In their day, fine brass andirons were costly. In 1770, Daniel King billed John Cadwalader, a Philadelphian John Adams described as "a gentlemen of large fortune," twenty-five pounds for a pair with corinthian column shafts. The finest carved mahogany Philadelphia-made highboys cost no more at the time.
How can you spot valuable "period" andirons, made before 1840? By their workmanship. 18th and early 19th century hollowware items like candlesticks and the shaped brass tubes that fitted over the iron rods of early andirons had two be cast in two symmetrical sections and then braised together. This difficult and costly process leaves two almost undetectable vertical seam lines running down opposite sides of old brass articles like andirons. Occasionally, if the brazier was real good at his craft or if the brass is tarnished, seams are hard to spot. In the case of brass andirons, by carefully unscrewing the top section in a counter-clockwise manner and then lifting it off the central support rod, the andiron can be disassembled and inspected from the inside where seams are easy to spot.
CLUES FOR RECOGNIZING OLD ANDIRONS
- Weight; Old andirons are often thicker walled and heavier than contemporary andirons.
- Color; Learn to recognize brass andirons when they're tarnished dark green and covered with black soot. It's no guarantee of age, but it's a good clue that they've been around a while, and often they're underpriced in this state. Brass can always be made golden again with brass cleaner and polishing.
- Workmanship; The central iron support rod on old andirons normally has hand-forged threads at the top and is peened over at the bottom, securing it to a hole it's fitted through in the mid-section of the legs. Later examples are often secured at the bottom with a nut. The logs supports or "dogs" on period andirons will often have an inconsistent "hand-wrought" look to them, devoid of perfectly square angles. Be sure that the large tubular brass sections are "seamed".
- Form; Quality andirons are balanced and elegant in design. Look for design found on fine period furniture; "Queen Anne" style "snake" feet, "Chippendale" style ball and ball and claw feet, corinthian columns shafts, Federal urns, swirled finials and cannon ball and double-lemon contoured shapes.
-Quality; I listed several of the best early braziers, however, less than one in ten sets of period andirons are stamped by the maker. Additionally, brass andirons are sometimes found with engraved scenes of mourning or patriotism. These andirons are highly coveted.
I consider fine old andirons one of the best investments in antiques today.
