Collecting On the Fringes of Taste, Design and Necessity Somewhere out on the fringes of taste, design and necessity, this little table was born. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time, a maker used round slabs from a sawn log for the top of a table or, as is the case here, even two slabs - and it won’t be the last. However, this example found at 4 PM on a Saturday four years ago at a yard sale near Belleville, ON certainly is in a class of its own and may be a unique form. In an attempt to disguise if not overcome the simple crudeness of the form, the maker took great pains to attach half-spools to the complete edge of each slab thereby disguising the natural edge of the sawn log. Although it may be an equally crude solution, it somehow seems to work and the busy edges of the table have an almost lacey feeling to them as a result of the spools. I suspect the centre column may have been from another table re-purposed for this effort or the maker tried his hand at turning this column with the few basic and, again, rather crude embellishments this column exhibits. Likely made about 1930, somewhere down the years, the table received a rather outrageous firey orange paint, which has aged nicely over the years. The entire structure is raised off the ground with four simple pillar like feet. While it may lack in aesthetics this grungy little table is as sturdy as they come and I imagine it had to endure a fairly difficult life. Still, it came to me in this as found, excellent condition and I haven’t done a thing to it since. If anything this table proves that when a determined individual decides to design and build a piece of furniture, the end result may be rather startling but there’s no denying that the maker arrived at a solution that served the intended purpose and did so with some flair and creativity. Today this little guy sits by my easy chair and is sturdy enough to hold my drink and as many reference books as I care to place on it. I am certain that many modern equivalents would fail that test. What does a table like this tell todays collector. In my opinion, its telling us to keep an open mind, to be prepared to accept the quirky, the unusual, the bizzare. Sure, we all want to find Canadian antique furniture and accessories that compare neatly and accurately to the items in the volumes by Pain and Shackleton, for example. However, thats most likely not going to happen. You are far more likely to run across items that dont comply to whats been published. It then forces one to recognize the qualities of a piece that stands on its own merits - as odd as sometimes they may be. Sure, you can pass these oddities by. Dont buy them. Dont collect them. On the other hand, items such as this will add a fascinating dimension to your collection. You will not tire from them. Every time I relax into my LazyBoy in the Man cave and turn to my right, the little orange table is there. Just where I want him to be. Thinking back to that yard sale, I can remember almost walking away from this $40 item. Im sure glad I didnt.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 22:23:13 +0000
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