This settee belonged to my great-grandmother, whose family immigrated from Eberswald, Germany, in 1882. My great-grandmother was a domestic who worked for a prominent family who gave her this furniture and told her it survived the Chicago Fire. Can you tell me anything about it?
— Sandra Gordon, Arlington Heights
You are correct to call this piece a settee. Many people use the word interchangeably with sofa and settle, which is not quite right. The terminology is important, as the correct identification of an antique is integral with its value. A settee is a piece of furniture with upholstered arms and back that seats more than one person. It became popular in England in the early 17th Century and was used as a primary piece of furniture for about two centuries.
Although they are comfortable, settees are not as cozy for seating as sofas, which became prominent in homes in the 19th Century. Sofas have a more relaxed construction, are heavily padded and are less formal furnishings than settees. Settles are the least comfortable of the three pieces. They are either on a box base or have legs and are not upholstered.
The design of your settee is clearly influenced by Charles Lock Eastlake, an English architect and writer, whose 1868 book, “Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and Other Details” had a profound effect on furniture design at that time. It may soon again, as it is being republished this summer (Ayer Publishing Co., $34.95). Eastlake was in favor of toning down the fussy overstuffed Victorian furniture that filled many homes at the time.
Although not solely influenced by Eastlake, your settee evinces some of his ideas. Its legs and arms are incised and its overall look is straighter and less curved than other furniture of the period. Where it departs from Eastlake, however, is in the fanciful carvings of serpents or sea creatures that adorn the back and other intricate carvings along the top.
You also have two matching, armless side chairs, and all three pieces look to be in good condition. As a suite, your Eastlake-inspired furniture is worth about $3,000.
I bought this bracelet at a church rummage sale in Wales a couple of years ago. My feeling is that it commemorates the liberation of Paris. What do you think?
— Suzanne Horning, Rio Rancho, N.M.
You may be right that this wonderful bracelet, circa 1945, represents the liberation of Paris, but, more likely, it was sold in Paris after the war to celebrate the Allied victory over the Nazis. The center link is the symbol for a liberated Paris. Bracelets such as yours, as well as brooches and necklaces that commemorate war, are categorized as homefront or sweetheart jewelry, as they often were worn by the mothers, wives and girlfriends of the boys over there. Your sweetheart bracelet is worth about $30.
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Leslie Hindman is the founder of the on-line appraisal service www.eppraisals.com. She welcomes letters but cannot reply to them individually. She answers those of general interest in her column only. Send photos of objects with identifying marks visible, a brief history, and daytime phone number to: Home & Garden, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611, Attn: What’s it Worth?
