Cowan's Corner

Gothic Antiques Timely For Halloween Season 

By Wes Cowan

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore!"

With these words, Edgar Allen Poe sent a shiver up the collective spine of nineteenth-century America.

Dubbed the father of modern horror and the modern mystery, Poe's writings were deeply entrenched in the Gothic Revival. In the literary world, the Gothic Revival inspired stories of the macabre and the supernatural, however, the gothic style had a profound effect on artistic expression as well.

The roots of gothic style stretch back to medieval and Renaissance Europe, particularly in the architecture of churches and cathedrals. High, pointed arches, vaulted ceilings, and flying buttresses characterized the architecture, but gothic design elements readily found their way into the decorative arts.

In the late 18th century, the interest in historical design, most obvious in the neoclassical styles, also included a revived interest in gothic styles. Famed English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippen-dale incorporated gothic motifs into his 1754 book of furniture designs, and by the second quarter of the 19th century, the Gothic Revival had fully blossomed in Europe and America.

The revival was all encompassing, greatly influencing American architecture and decorative arts. In the middle of the 19th century, one could build a gothic house and furnish it with a wide array of gothic chairs, tables, and cupboards, setting their table with gothic-influenced ceramics, glassware, and silver.

New York furniture makers who worked for the city's elite made much of the best American Gothic Revival furniture. However, gothic-influenced wares were made throughout the country. The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company manufactured pressed glass tablewares and oil lamps, and manufacturers of yellow ware in several regions were making tobacco jars with gothic arches. The Gothic Revival was felt in the Mmidwestern U.S. as well. Cincinnati, Ohio, OH clock and watchmakers Joseph Beggs and Harry Smith made a tall case clock in the collection of the Miami Purchase Association for Historic Preservation that exhibits a very strong Gothic influence, which is quite rare among American tall case clocks.

The market for Gothic Revival furniture is good for both beginning and advanced collectors. The "best of the best" pieces bring big prices. Fine examples of American eighteenth-century Chippendale chairs with gothic-influenced splats are quite desirable and can fetch more than $10,000 each. However, nineteentth-century examples of Ameri-can gothic can be quite affordable. Elaborately carved gothic furniture from the 1850s can be found at many auctions and in many shops, and are often priced at under $1,000.

About the Author: Wes Cowan is founder and owner of Cowan's Auctions, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. An internationally recognized expert in historic Americana, Wes stars in the PBS television series History Detectives and is a featured appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. He can be reached via email at info@cowanauctions.com.

This 1850 Gothic shelf clock, made by Edward Blakeslee of Cincinnati in about 1850, has a cathedral-like pediment and spire-like finials. It sold for just over $1,000 in 2004.

Gothic design permeated American decorative arts, as shown in this mid-19th c. New England pressed glass sugar bowl. It fetched $1,150 at auction.

Gothic style can be subtle. In the case of this secretary desk, the gothic influence is limited to the pointed arches in the glass doors. This secretary sold for $2,070 on October 7, 2005.