Colonial Antique Tables

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, dining tables were extendable and had tapered straight legs, with spade feet, or ring-turned legs, usually on brass casters. The legs and tops were often strung. There were various mechanisms for extending the tables to allow additional leaves to be dropped in.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, the tapered straight leg had become obsolete, and the turnings had become bulbous, a trend that was accentuated later in the century, when carving of the main bulb became common.

Other forms of table included the pembroke, the sofa table , the occasional (or wine or tea) table, the centre table and the card table. The pembroke was four-legged (either tapered or turned), with hinged drop-sides. The sofa table was supported by a centre column, with outswept feet, or by twin end supports, usually connected with a stretcher. It had hinged drop-ends.

The occasional table usually had a circular top, though rectangular tops were sometimes used. Later in the century, oval tops became popular. It was supported by a column with outswept feet, or by a column that was attached to a circular or other base, which was itself lifted on small turned or shaped feet.

Early card tables usually had rectangular two-part hinged tops with turned columns, ending in a shaped, tri-form or quadriform base, again supported on small turned or shaped feet, usually with hidden casters. The top could be swivelled to allow the upper part to be folded over to sit on the base of the top, which contained an area for cards and other games to be stored.

The centre table was much larger than the occasional table. It generally had a circular top, supported by a central column ending on a tri-form or quadriform base. In many cases, the top was hinged on thumbscrews that attached it to the block, allowing it to be tilted down by releasing a catch, thereby reducing the space taken up by the table.

Late 19th century tables tended to be much heavier in construction and more heavily carved than those from the first half of the nineteenth century.

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