Old. I think.

A couple Sundays ago, Ryanne and I went to look at some antiques.

We scored a few things, including this backbreaker:

At first we thought it was a bookshelf. But then we noticed the drawer behind some paintings that were leaning against it. So we settled on it being a china cabinet, despite its serious lack of cabinetry.

It's supposed to be from the New England area and was apparently found in a church basement. I'm not sure if that's true. But I did spend a little time trying to figure out how old it is. 

Pretty much any furniture built in America before 1870 used handmade dovetail joints in drawer construction. Machining wasn't well-developed enough at the time to replicate it.

Sweet huh?

But things change. And most furniture made between 1870 and 1900 used a Knapp joint. This was machine-made and looks much different than the dovetail.

Although in 1900, machining came around to the point where the dovetail could be replicated and mass produced. There wasn't anything wrong with the Knapp. People just wanted their furniture to look like older handmade furniture - even though it was going to be built with machines.

So, people were dumb back then, too.

But anyway - seeing my drawer doesn't have a Knapp joint, I can rule out 1870-1900. And I know for sure this thing isn't from around the Civil War era. Twentieth century, it is.

There are two slotted screws in it. They hold the drawer hardware in place. Phillips-head screws are relatively new, so that would have pointed to it being mid 1940's or later.

Slotted-head screws can be really old, but most screws were at least partially machined by the mid-1800's, so it's tough to identify them. Mine are pretty dull and the threads are inconsistent, so they're somewhat old.

I think.

I'm guessing 1910's to 1930's. Although when I'm 85 years old and half-crippled with blown out knees, this thing will probably fall on me, and in my final moments I'll see a made in China sticker on the bottom side.

The paint on it is in pretty good shape, though. There are definitely some scratches and blemishes, especially on the top of the two shelves. But, who cares? The only treatment it'll probably get is a little Pledge.

The world could use a little more imperfection.

And it'll start in my kitchen...

Or bedroom.

I just need to decide if it's a bookshelf or china cabinet, first.