Vander Ley Bros. Rococo Revival-style Settee, ca. 1935
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GUEST:
This is a sofa that belonged to my grandmother. Her second husband bought it for her at auction in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It came out of the "Steel Magnolias" house-- the movie was filmed there. And she's had it at least 20 years.
APPRAISER:
You mentioned that it was out of the "Steel Magnolias" house. What does that mean to you?
GUEST:
The house where Julia Roberts' character lived.
APPRAISER:
Lived, yeah.
GUEST:
Yes, that's where it was filmed, in that house. So it belonged to the owners of that house, and they put it up for auction.
APPRAISER:
Do you know whether this piece actually appeared in that movie?
GUEST:
It was not…
APPRAISER:
It was not.
GUEST:
…we re-watched it a few days ago.
APPRAISER:
What do you know about the piece of furniture, specifically?
GUEST:
I researched the label on the bottom, I think it said, "Vander Ley Brothers." I learned that they closed their doors in 1951, so I'm assuming it's at least that old. And I learned they did reproduction furniture, and they did all the furniture for "Gone with the Wind."
APPRAISER:
Correct. We actually do have a label. I'm just going to tip this forward a little bit so we can see the label just on the underside. So we know that this is the Natchez model. Vander Ley Brothers was indeed a furniture company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They did make furniture for Warner Brothers and are most famous for making furniture for "Gone with the Wind." In fact, they made a piece incredibly similar to this, which appeared in "Gone with the Wind." You said they disappeared in 1951. They were absorbed in 1951 by another, larger company. In 1923 is when they were founded.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But of course, if they're making furniture in the "Gone with the Wind" style, this dates more to the late 1930s, early 1940s. So that reasonably is where we can date this piece.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
We'd refer to it as a Victorian Rococo Revival-style double-back settee, which is sort of a mouthful. So this settee is made of carved mahogany and sort of a velvet-type upholstery. This is a Rococo Revival revival piece of furniture. The Rococo Revival was initially sort of Victorian. This is done in the Belter style of Rococo Revival furniture, which would have been about 1860 or 1870. So this is really a reproduction of a reproduction. The market for it isn't great.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
A piece of furniture like this, if it would come to market, might bring $50 or $100, based on the style itself.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
What might drive the price a little bit higher is a really passionate group of collectors called Windies.
GUEST:
Windies.
APPRAISER:
Who collect all things "Gone with the Wind."
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Because Clark Gable sat in a sofa that looks very like this, in Aunt Pittypat's parlor, might bring $300 or $400 in a current auction.
GUEST:
Okay, great.
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