COLLECTING A COUNTRY CLASSIC: The Sawbuck Table
We chatted with longtime country antiques dealer Kathy Schoemer of Acworth, New Hampshire (e-mail: kathyeno@sover.net; 603-835-2105), to get some tips on looking for iconic country antiques. Schoemer, who for years had a shop in North Salem, New York, moved to New Hampshire six years ago and is active with the New Hampshire Antique Dealers Association, the group that will hold its 50th Anniversary show this August (www.nhada.org/show.html).

Schoemer shared some tips on recognizing authentic antique sawbuck tables, a classic piece of antique country furniture. “These were real country tables that people often kept outside on the porch,” says Schoemer. Typically, the tops were made of planks and the base was an X-shaped arrangement of old boards.

Tables with old paint finishes on the top are particularly prized today. Schoemer sold a good early 19th-century table recently for $1,000. Prices for antique sawbuck tables vary widely depending on age and condition, but the older versions (late-18th century to early 19th century) with painted finishes will run $1,000 and up; versions from the mid- to late-19th century can be found for $350 and up.

Schoemer warns that it’s easy to fake a sawbuck table if people make them from old floorboards, for example. Here’s what to look for in an authentic sawbuck table:

Study the boards that make up the table and look for nail holes that don’t have a particular purpose; this randomness would suggest the table was made from wallboards or floorboards, a sign that it’s a fake.

Look for oxidation around the nails; early nails on a real table will have sunk in or pulled out a bit over time and there will be dark oxidation from the iron in the old nails.

Look for wear and patina that is uniform and consistent with the table always having been a table; for example, the ends of the legs should be worn down from the table having been pushed around over the years.

Look for signs of fake paint—for example, if there is wear in a crazy place that doesn’t make sense.

Look for antique sawbuck tables at auctions that regularly feature country furniture, such as those held by Carlsen Gallery, in Greenville, New York (www.carlsengallery.com), in group antiques shops, or from dealers specializing in country antiques.