Herter Brothers Cheval Dresser

Hi members. I thought you might like to see a piece of real Herter Brothers furniture. We acquired this dresser when we purchased our home in 1995. The whole house was full of branded Herter Brothers furniture from the original purchase in 1870. The barn had Herter pieces stored away there, I remember a wonderful lions head fireplace surround and aesthetic chairs atop piles of furniture.                                                                                              We were able to keep a number of pieces with the house and this was one. The rest of the bedroom suite went off to Sothebys with many other pieces. Many pieces were marked including two pieces from this set. The dresser is attached to the wall and I never took it away to see if it is marked. If any of you have the Sothebys catalog from Sept 12 1995 in NY you can see some of the pieces. These were "bread and butter" Herter pieces not as elaborate as those you often see from the larger consignments. It was quite a thrill and honor to see these pieces in-situ where they resided for 125 years. There are still stashes of wonderful furniture out there waiting to be found, but very few.                                                                                                  Let me know what you think. John

The most important pictures were quite dark so I brightened them up for you..John

Thank you so much for sharing this.  I'd love it if more of us would just post our furniture for all to see and seeing a Herter piece is always a treat.  I even noticed the "H" key. 

The inside hinges where the maple drawers are look stainless-steel-like and new.  Is it just maybe the photo? 

Thanks again.

John - I own the suite of Herter brothers bedroom furniture from the Beaty Estate in Warren, PA.  I presume that is the home you purchased and where the chevel dresser came from.  I have been trying to find out if David Beaty is alive, and if so, if he has any information or photographs of the interior of the home.  Thus far, I have had little luck.  I have a few photographs of the exterior of the home prior to it being remodeled.  We also own a very similar, I believe what was called a "Princess Dresser" by Herter brothers with the same interior configuration, pull out shelves for make-up, etc.

Renaissanceman

WOW, really neat. I am guessing that the house, when new, was decorated with Herter from the get go? It doesnt get any better than that, except for that barn which had additional pieces.

Yeah, whats the deal on those hinges, they cant be stainless because thats a 20th century invention.

The hinges are original to the piece, they are nickel plated brass and look new thanks to the tight fitting construction of the doors and minimal oxidation. The metal knobs on the bottom drawers are replacements.                                                                                        Renaissanceman, it really is a small world. I have often wondered where the other pieces from the estate went. Did you acquire any other pieces besides the bedroom set? I was told Margot Johnson did well with the Herter octagonal table that sat in the living room. We have the matching fireplace surround and a fine five piece bookcase with the same design. There was a large on-site auction here as well, there were some large Herter mirrors that went reasonably, and alot of bits and pieces of Herter left over from their 1930s renovation. David Beaty is sort of a recluse and I dont suppose you will have much luck with him. When we bought the house there was a closet full of family pictures that went with him. I would love to see how you set up the bedroom suite and the princess dresser. Feel free to email me for more information on the house and family as I think you would enjoy hearing what I have available.                                                                                          I posted a few pictures of the Herter Brothers subtleties found on their pieces to help newer collectors correctly identify potential pieces..John

Yeah, that makes sense on the hinges, in this pic you can see where some of the nickel has worn off. Still, very attractive and a very nice detail. For a minute there i had a flash back to the goddard/townsend clan where they made a desk/bookcase in the 18th century with sterling silver hardware.

While most site participants probably have the catalog from the Sotheby's sale mentioned by the OP (who is a very lucky person indeed!), my husband tells me he has in his files at least one clipping of some contemporaneous press coverage of the Sotheby's sale. He also has a flyer/auction listing from a New York State auction house which sold some additional pieces from the Beaty house shortly thereafter. I can scan or transcribe these if anyone is interested is having them for reference purposes.

I have the article from the Maine Antique Digest about the sale. If you have others I would be interested however. I also would like the auction flyer (I believe the auctioneer was in Cato NY). I have the auction flyer regarding the Beaty auction but it is quite anemic in content...John

Quote from: anteekdoc
I have the article from the Maine Antique Digest about the sale. If you have others I would be interested however. I also would like the auction flyer (I believe the auctioneer was in Cato NY). I have the auction flyer regarding the Beaty auction but it is quite anemic in content...John

Applicable pages from the Cato, NY auction flyer, and two ads for the sale, one from MAD, the other may also be from MAD, or maybe it is from the Newtown Bee (?). I apologize for the size of the images, but I wanted to provide something legible:

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff322/thepeacockroom/page01.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff322/thepeacockroom/page02.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff322/thepeacockroom/page03.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff322/thepeacockroom/MADad.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff322/thepeacockroom/other-ad.jpg

John - I can send you photos of our Herter Beaty bedroom suite if you could provide me with an email address.  A second, but different bedroom suite is with a couple in San Francisco, and I know where the window cornices are from the home.  Margot purchased a number of items at the sale, other items went to other parties in the East Coast.  I will also send you a photo of our Chevel dresser which is quite similar to  your dresser, other than ours being inlaid and made of walnut.  I contacted the Warren Co. Historical Society and spoke with the person in charge of their photo collection.  They apparently have little information on the Beaty house, but lots of information on the family, having a long history in Pennsylvania.  My family is from Erie, so I have been to Warren where some relatives own a hunting cabin.  Unfortunately, I never saw the house, since I did not own the furniture at the time. I heard Beaty was living in Florida and has a home in Warren still.

Renaissanceman

Hi...you should be able to get my email address from the link just below my user ID on this posting. The Beaty family is spread over the continents. In the early century some of them moved down to South America, Brazil I believe to dabble in oil and lumber. If you look at Voorsangers book there are a number of pieces from a Venezuela collection...I cant help but think??? David winters in Florida and still comes to Warren in summer. I have looked for years for info on the Beaty home but only have the common findings...We do have a few pictures of the interior before we bought it. You are welcome to visit us if you are in the area..John

Renaissanceman, I would still love to see those pictures of the rest of the bedroom suite if you have the time. Thanks, John