Antique Old
Check out this page if you are looking for Antique Old
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 Rare Old Antique CITY ICE SERVICE Advertising Sign PHILLIPSBURG KS  US $9.99
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 Antique Old Bronze K Sign Letter K Nice Vintage Big Solid US $11.61
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 Vintage NOS Hartford Insurance Sign Antique Old New Old Stock Store RARE 6124 US $349.95
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 Vintage Mailbox Sign Antique Old Advertising Signs RARE US $99.95
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 Vintage FFA Sign Antique Old Agriculture Farm NOS RARE US $249.95
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 RARE Vintage Department Store Sign Antique Old Signs US $589.95
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 RARE Vintage Hartford Insurance Sign Antique Old Metal US $349.95
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 RARE Vintage Drug Store Sign Antique Old Drugs Signs US $489.95
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 Vintage Metal FOR RENT Sign Old Antique Signs Iowa US $89.95
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 19th C ANTIQUE OLD ORIGINAL GENERAL DRUG STORE CIGAR CANDY PORCELAIN TRADE SIGN US $1,795.00
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 RARE Vintage Glass Sign Signs Antique Old Advertising US $289.95
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 Vintage Double Sided Porcelain Barber Sign Antique Old US $539.95
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 Vintage Curved Porcelain Marvy Barber Sign Antique Old US $539.95
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 RARE Vintage Nichol Kola Sign Antique Old Cola NOS 1940 US $349.95
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 Vintage Dick Tracy Barber Sign Antique Old Fearless Fosdick Al Capp Store ORIGNL US $465.00
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 Vintage Springfield Insurance Co Reverse Painted Glass Sign Antique Old 6802 US $589.95
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 ANTIQUE 7UP DISPLAY TIN SIGN 1940 36 VERY RARE STAND GREAT CONDITION OLD US $160.00
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 RARE Vintage Porcelain Rooms Sign Antique Old Hotel US $389.95
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 Vintage Mule Hide Roof Store Sign Antique Old Hardware Signs Embossed 6524 US $389.95
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 Vintage Porcelain Dexters Mothers Bread Sign Antique Old Store Signs 6837 US $689.95
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 Vintage Havana Cigar Sign Antique Old Signs Store 6310 US $189.95
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 RARE Vintage Cow Pass Farm Sign Antique Old Store US $589.95
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 HUGE 1960s VINTAGE 7 UP SIGN ANTIQUE OLD COLA PRIMITIVE SODA POP US $325.00
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 Vintage Embossed Clinton Beverages Sign Antique Old Signs Soda Drink RARE 6940 US $439.95
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 Vintage 2 Sided Buried Cable Sign Antique Old Telephone US $89.95
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 Liptons Tea Sign old vintage porcelain enamel advertising drink large antique US $499.99
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 RARE Vintage State Auto Insurance Sign Antique Old Iowa US $589.95
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 RARE Vintage Porcelain Main Street Sign Antique Old US $389.95
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 Vintage Embossed Wallaces Farmer Sign Antique Old Iowa Signs Store Farm 6946 US $229.95
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 ANTIQUE VINTAGE PORCELAIN SIGN OLD PATRIOTIC FAMILY INSURANCE COMPANY US $898.50
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 ANTIQUE VINTAGE NO SMOKING SIGN OLD WOOD US $225.00
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 Vintage Skellysolve Dry Cleaning Sign Antique Old Skelly Oil Gas Store 6519 US $489.95
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 RARE Vintage Hardware Store Sign Antique Old Signs US $639.95
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 Vintage Asprin Sign Antique Old Signs Medicine Drug US $129.95
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 Vintage Sure Rest Bed Sign Antique Old Signs Store US $129.95
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 Vintage Hartford Insurance Sticker Sign Antique Old NOS US $69.95
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 Vintage Mayfield Ice Cream Reverse Painted Glass Sign Antique Old Store 6832 US $389.95
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 Vintage Hudson Feed Sign Embossed Antique Old Seed Scioto Signs Farm 6526 US $389.95
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 Vintage Davis Paint Sign Antique Old Metal Wallpaper US $229.95
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 Vintage Merchant Sign Antique Old Signs Store Ohio US $189.95
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 Vintage Havana Cigar Sign Antique Old Signs Store 6309 US $189.95
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 Vintage 1921 CPC Convention Sign Antique Old Farm Iowa US $139.95
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 Vintage Hypower Chile Grocers Sign Antique Old Signs US $389.95
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 Vintage Peerless Chain Hardware Sign Antique Old Signs US $389.95
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 Vintage Scientific Optician Sign Antique Old Store RARE US $589.95
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 Vintage Akron Paint Sign Antique Old Metal Wallpaper US $289.95
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 Vintage Hartford Insurance Sign Antique Old Signs NOS US $349.95
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 Vintage Wallaces Farmer Sign Antique Old Iowa Signs US $229.95
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 RARE Vintage Pfister Seed Sign Antique Old Signs Feed US $349.95
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 Vintage Butter Nut Bread Sign Antique Old Metal General Store Signs Food 6833 US $289.95
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 Vintage Porcelain Western Union Double Sided Sign Antique Old Store Signs 6834 US $489.95
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 Vintage NOS Hartford Insurance Sign Antique Old 6123 US $349.95
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 Vintage Public Warehouse Sign Antique Old Signs US $129.95
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 Vintage North River Insurance Co Sign Antique Old Reverse Painted Glass 6532 US $869.95
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 Vintage Butter Nut Bread Sign Antique Old Cardboard General Store Signs 6942 US $149.95
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 Vintage Doubled Sided Chief Paint Sign Antique Old Metal Store Hardware 6941 US $389.95
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 Old Rare Vintage Antique Tip Top Bread Broom Holder still in package US $89.99
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 Vintage Hartford Insurance Sign Antique Old NOS 6119 US $349.95
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 Vintage Blue Wing Clothes Sign Antique Old Signs RARE US $539.95
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 ANTIQUE HAND PAINTED WOOD OLD HOTEL SIGN GUESTS BED BREAKFAST ADVERTISING US $499.00
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It'S Inevitable: Old Wood Will Shrink
Toronto - Shrinkage is a factor to be reckoned with in all wood construction. In simple terms, shrinkage is the contraction of wood as a result of a loss of moisture. When a tree is freshly cut, it has a high moisture content which is evident by its sappy nature and extreme weight.
Presuming that wood is dried to a point where it is stable prior to its use (and that's not always a safe presumption), should additional problems be expected?
The answer is yes. Wood can be brought to a point of relative stability, but the environment in which it is placed is not stable. Invariably wood will continue to lose moisture from years of being indoors. What is more significant is that wood will continue to change with seasons. Wood will gain or lose moisture according to the moisture content of the air. Summer provides high moisture, while winter means low moisture and contraction. A piece of furniture purchased in a high-moisture area such as London, England and brought to a drier environment such as New York or Toronto often will start to fall apart through contraction.
The degree of shrinkage varies with the age of the piece (how much it has pre-shrunk already), the type of wood, and how it was constructed. There is no mystery to some pieces falling apart.
The move to lower humidity (often centrally heated houses) results in shrinkage. Stress to all the glue lines causes the piece to sometimes come unglued.
The first rule of shrinkage is that all woods shrink across the grain. The second rule is that all wood will continue to shrink to some degree after being employed in furniture construction. The third rule is that all wood will continue to expand and contract with changes in humidity no matter what you do to it (save shrink wrapping it in an air-tight plastic wrapper!).
The last rule, to complicate matters, is that uneven absorption of moisture (one surface absorbing more than the other surface) will result in warpage. This last point is all too frequently illustrated with tabletops. A craftsman will finish the top surface of a table, for example, but rarely the underside. The finish on the top surface inhibits the absorption of moisture (the primary reason for using a finish) forcing greater absorption from the bottom. The consequence is a warped top leaf. This effect is known as cupping. Understanding and observing shrinkage is at the basis of authenticating antique furniture. Without shrinkage, a piece simply cannot be antique. A piece exhibiting shrinkage might not be unique but it must be old. In some cases, a combination of very well-seasoned wood and a stable climate will result in a minimum of shrinkage to a table and no splitting. But you are likely to encounter more split tops than not.
Over the years when I have found harvest tables in barns, deserted houses, and old sheds, I have invariably had problems with shrinkage and splitting when the items are refinished and moved into a heated home or cottage. Tables on pedestal bases are less likely to split because the manner in which they are attached allows greater latitude for the movement of the wood.
There are numerous examples of shrinkage. In an old schoolmaster's desk the cross member shrinks and leaves a shrinkage ridge where it is mortised into the 1eg post. With ladderback chairs the slat will shrink leaving a portion of the empty mortise showing. In addition, the glue holding the chair together will dry and crumble with temperature and moisture change. Everyone has experienced a chair coming apart.
The important thing with shrinkage is the simple principal that it shrinks across the grain. The nailed blanket box will not change because all sides are continuous and they will shrink the same. After a hundred years or so each will have shrunk to approximately the same width. The key to shrinkage in this case will be the bottom of the box. Considering the bottom board is fixed at several points it will either have cracked or pulled away at one side.
So, the next time your newly purchased antique shrinks in the winter, don't blame the dealer - check your heat!
About the Author
Peter Green, Founder of the antique school, Asheford Institute of Antiques, Internationally Syndicated Antique Columnist, Travel Writer and Owner of South Meadow Antiques. For more information of the antique school, click here Asheford Institute Of Antiques Institute Of Antiques.
