Can Antique Furniture Reproductions Be Genuine?
Why would anyone buy antique furniture reproductions? If the styles and construction of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are so appealing, why not just buy the genuine antique? After all, what can compare with the wonderful sense of history and romance conjured by a genuine antique? What ardent seventeenth century lovers may have stolen a kiss on that Louis XIV loveseat, what secret missive may have been composed atop that delicate marquetry writing desk? Undoubtedly, antiques have an undeniable cachet. All of which again begs the question: why not buy the original? And frankly, as a dealer who has collected, sold and loved antiques for virtually all of my life, I would be hard-pressed to find a reason not to. Except. Since the turn of the last century, truly fine antiques have become increasingly difficult to find, and, consequently, increasingly expensive. Antiques having become something of a craze during the 1980s, old barns and attics, once the source of many a delightful
