Mclellan Antiques

This is a rock maple drop leaf table I just restored.

Made by the Vilas company, a Quebec cabinet maker operating continuously for over 80 years.

Extremely popular throughout Canada in the 60s and 70s, these pieces, all made from solid rock maple have endured just fine. After a half a century or more, with wear and tear and fading, may not be much to look at, but restore beautifully.

They have a very dated look, the fashion losing its popularity by the 80s. I never sold them when I had my store open, but I did have many occasions to restore these pieces for my clients.

A late 1800s hall tree in White Oak.
These became very popular in the Victorian age for wealthy homes. Positioned in the entryway, they offered storage as well as means to hang your coat, hat, umbrellas and walking sticks, all the while occupying a very small floor space. These could be quite high, ornately carved, and featured a beveled mirror.
By the turn of the century, there were simpler versions for the middle class and remained popular to the first world war era.

In this case, my client wanted a very dark finish, and I think the result was is quite handsome.

Here is a 1936 floor radio in classic Art Deco style that I recently completed.
This is the ‘Majestic’ model, first created by the Grigsby-Grunow Co of Chicago in 1927.

These were high-end pieces with their beautiful veneered cabinetry, and state-of-the-art speaker. They revolutionized the way people and families spent their evenings at home. Decades before television, people would gather around these radios for their favorite drama shows. These represent the golden age of Radio with iconic programs like the Lone Ranger, Orson Wells’s War of the Worlds,, The Shadow, etc..

This is a Canadian version of the Majestic, Made by Rogers – Majestic.

This is a Larkin desk from the early 1900s. These were popular from turn of the century into the 1920s.
They offer a desk with pigeon holes, and a fair amount of storage while occupying a very small floor space.

A Larkin desk was actually the very first piece of antique furniture I bought in California in 1977 when I was 22. It was purchased at the Sausalito flea market, which is where we bought all of our tools and later antiques while starting the restoration business.

Here we have a turn-of-the-century Morris chair. It has remained in one family for generations; over the last century and a quarter has experienced a hard life and required extensive repairs.

Made from quarter sawn white Oak, it is one of the better ones I have seen in this region. I have always liked Morris chairs from this time. In California, I worked on several museum quality pieces, which featured hand carved griffins, and Swan heads with full wingspans supporting the armrests.

A before and several after photos of a 1940s mahogany sideboard.
In the traditional Hepplewhite style, featuring flame mahogany veneer faces, and turned and fluted legs.

Here we have a cedar chest in Walnut from the 1950s. This was made by the Honderich company in Milverton, Ontario. These were considered high-end pieces and sold widely across Canada. Comparable to the Lane cedar chests from Virginia, of which I also have restored many. These were very popular, often given as wedding presents.

However, over the last 50 years or so, they have become quite faded and scuffed, and are now often discarded. But professionally restored, you can once again see the rich walnut veneers, and the fine cabinetry ensures that they will be easily around for another 75 years.

First project since returning from my winter travels.

An early century child’s rocker. My client had this 125 year old rocker in the family for generations, and he wished me to repaint it in the original paint color.
I listened to him, but I also heard the chair speaking to me. Far better would be to preserve the original paint as much as possible, and critically, preserve the original decal.
The honest wear on the rocker shows that many generations of children made good use of it, and very much adds to the charm of this piece…