Unfortunately modern finishes often destroy antiquity. The true antique artisan sees the beauty in an old piece of furniture and adds the skills and materials necessary to restore the article. Some old furniture pieces were actually designed as art pieces and were not constructed for practical use. Regardless of original purpose, however, repair begins with disassembly and matching or custom-fabricating of missing or broken pieces to the original's design. Patina should be maintained wherever possible. This means cleaning an item, but not replacing an old finish. Why replace something that helps establish the history of the piece of furniture? Wax (i.e., "solidified oil") and oil can be worked into many an old furniture varnish-type finish and with proper buffing, can restore that finish. To preserve lacquer-based finishes, denatured alcohol can heal and rebond the old, cracked finishes of some pieces.
Whether varnish-based or lacquer-based finishes, the goal in repairing a piece of furniture is to restore the broken. Dalton has a stock pile of various pieces of furniture that have been reluctantly relinquished to the trash heap. A missing piece of furniture can be refurbished by matching wood and grain from a piece storehoused in the heap. It can be cut and carved and finished to match the wholeness of what is left in a piece that is receiving the restoration attention.
Restoration is tedious and slow. Time-benefit decisions may require a piece to be thrown on that trash heap for recycling just because too much time is required for restoration. The piece, essentially, will never become economically viable merchandize--just plain too expensive! "It may not even be worn out," Dalton opined, " but it may just be too time-intensive. I always try to salvage as much of the past as I can. I try to preserve the life of the family that owned a piece, even if it means leaving marks left in the finish by keys or cans or cigar burns or dents or scrapes of history." It is these things and events that help to define the value of any antique.
Dalton and wife Eloise collect items from within a 150 miles or so of Silverhill. Typically, their antique goods come from estates and auctions and individuals. Many people feel they have treasures, but as Dalton notes, "There are only so many treasures out there." With the advent of online auctions, many formerly affordable antiques have effectively been priced out of reach of folks like the Heads. Even the rural flavor of their particular antiques store in Silverhill must still yield to business economics. A vendor must be able to have a reasonable mark-up to keep a business operating. When merchandise becomes too expensive, the business will fold. Fortunately for the Silverhill community, the Heads buy expeditiously and have even found that many articles from a century ago manufactured in the Northeast have been brought down to the west coast of Florida which has given them access to some remarkable "treasures."
Antique Restoration Craftsman Dalton Head (r) shared his expertise with a small post-Hurricane Dennis group at Silverhill's Zion Lutheran Church's "Men's 710 Second Tuesdays." Included in the hardy hurricane survivors pictured are Ernest Burnett (Fairhope), Ralph Utter (Silverhill), John Pierce (Rosinton), Charlie Canning (Magnolia Springs), and Mack Gibbs (Elberta) (clockwise from 7:00).
