Posted by Chris under Company News on June 10, 2010
I know I'm a little late on this, seeing as it's June already, but we've been awfully busy lately. However, we did get a lot of great antiques in last month, so it should be worth the wait!
This Victorian sideboard arrived in great condition with plenty of gorgeous carvings all over it. We usually have a few sideboards or hunt cupboards similar to this lying around the shop, but this one is particularly unique, since it has carved cherubs and a man and woman pair. What I would consider stock Victorian carvings included lion heads and floral motifs, both of which this one has, but it is unusual (although not rare) to find such distinct carvings. You can also really see the craftsman's touch in many of the more detailed carvings.
People are always asking us about buttoned leather furniture, so here is May's beauty. I don't anticipate this one will be here long, given the great condition that it is in. (Side note: we will soon be carrying English reproduction buttoned leather furniture!)
Gate leg tables are one of our most popular items. This one is especially unique, however, because of its large size relative to most antique gate legs of the same style and period.
This Victorian writing desk arrived in fantastic condition with a gorgeous quartersawn oak grain (sometimes called "tiger oak" for its distinctive striped pattern) and a green leather writing surface that appears to have been replaced circa 1960.
This lovely Edwardian nest of tables is an uncommon find, since antique nests of tables aren't very easy to come by. A rich patina has settled into the mahogany in these tables, which helps to give them their heterogeneous complexion.
Many more wonderful antiques arrived on May's container, but that's all for now.
Tags: container, arrivals, sideboard, armchair, table, desk
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Posted by Chris under Furniture Commentary on August 04, 2009
If you're a small, enterprising antique dealer like us, you might do your own photography. For our part, we've devoted a small section of our warehouse to an enclosed photo studio with a light set and a computer with Photoshop CS3. Now I'm no PS guru but this is one of those programs that have changed the world, if only in small ways. As for furniture, the advantage of having good-looking pictures is that most antique dealers don't. This always surprises me because beautiful pictures can make or break a sale, especially since many people can be uneasy about buying online without first seeing the item in person. The trick is to show how beautiful your item is without hiding its flaws (if any), and to refrain from performing a Photoshop face lift.
Consider the following photos of a walnut writing desk that we have. Taken with a Canon Rebel XT, an 18-55mm lens and an Hoya polarizer, the left photo has no post-processing at all. The middle has what I would consider the most honest appearance, although I would consider the right most beautiful.
If I were making this photo for our furniture catalog, then I would choose the right photo (because we can make a desk to match the photo). But if this picture was slated for a listing for this particular desk, then I would use the more representative middle picture because I don't want to mislead my buyer into thinking that the walnut has that deeper, more saturated color with more shading and darker tones. This becomes particularly important when shipping furniture from our Atlanta showroom to, say, California, because on top of wanting to please my customer, I don't want to pay for return shipping.
So if you're considering using Photoshop to tighten up your furniture pictures but you find yourself uneasy about the reputation that Photoshop has of creating beautiful illusions, then just keep in mind what you want your buyer to see, and make it happen.
Tags: photoshop, writing desk
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