Kimball Manufacturing Co. Furniture

To tell if furniture is Victorian, look for a maker's mark or stamp on the piece. Not all pieces will be marked, but if yours is, you can begin identifying your furniture by researching the maker using trusted online resources. The Victorian era lasted roughly from the 1830s to the 1890s, and its furniture style spread from the UK to Europe and the United States. If the maker of your furniture was active during that time frame and produced pieces similar to yours, then it is likely to be Victorian. If you cannot locate the mark, you'll need to understand the characteristics of Victorian furniture to assess your piece. Victorian furniture is usually regal, ornate and luxurious and often features curved lines and stately proportions, floral or geometric carvings and inlays, richly colored woods and highly detailed embellishments. A certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer can also help you determine what period your furniture is from. Shop a diverse assortment of Victorian furniture on 1stDibs.

To tell antique furniture from reproduction, first check for a maker's mark. By researching the maker associated with the marking using trusted online resources, you can determine when they were active. If the company was in business 100 years ago or more, your piece may be an antique, but if the company's history began more recently, your piece is likely a reproduction. If you can't locate a marking, study the details of the furniture up close. Genuine antiques will often show tool marks and slight variations in carved details because they were typically handcrafted. Most contemporary furniture is machine-made, so you won't usually see these types of characteristics. When in doubt, have a certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer evaluate your furniture. On 1stDibs, find a wide variety of antique furniture.

To identify a Victorian chair, focus on the frame rather than the upholstery, which might have been replaced over the years. Look under the seat and on the legs for maker's marks. If you find any, conduct online research to determine if the manufacturer was active and producing chairs similar to yours during the Victorian era, which lasted from the 1830s through the turn of the 20th century. Some chairmakers who were active at the time include Chesterfield, Charles Hindley & Sons, Heywood-Wakefield Co., Howard & Sons and Jacob and Josef Kohn. Should you be unable to locate any markings, you can examine the characteristics of your chair to determine if it reflects the Victorian style. Easily recognizable, Victorian furniture is regal, ornate and luxurious. It often features curved lines, stately proportions and highly detailed geometric and floral embellishments. A certified appraiser or experienced antique dealer can also aid you in the identification process. On 1stDibs, explore a diverse assortment of Victorian chairs.

What a Victorian-style couch is called depends on its design. A long, low sofa with an exposed, carved wood frame is a settee. Sofas with arched backs and dramatically rolled arms are camelback sofas. Fainting couch or chaise longue is the term for a Victorian sofa with a slightly reclined headrest on one end and a rolled arm on the other. On 1stDibs, explore a collection of Victorian sofas.