Old Boston

Our restoration of the High-Victorian ca. 1875 gilt tilt-top table has come to an end. After removing the radiator paint and reconstructing all the missing parts with compo, we painted the entire piece with a red bole, applied gold leaf, and finally a glaze to mitigate the sheen and add depth to the decorative portions.

For context: the last four photos show the damage on the table as it arrived, including badly patched areas that were removed and replaced.

Documenting some progress on the restoration of the gilt tilt-top table. After assessing the structural problems, and after a thorough cleaning and scraping of loose gesso and paint, we proceeded to create molds and casts of the missing compo sections. Here are two substantial repairs.

Incredibly excited to start working on this superb high-Victorian decorative tilt-top table. It's made of wood and compo, and features and extraordinary hand-painted ceramic plate depicting a female figure with cherub. Originally finished in gold leaf, it experienced many losses in the gesso and compo decoration, and was eventually painted with gold paint. There were quite a few terrible attempts to restoration, particularly on one of the legs and the pedestal. One of the legs had been poorly re-glued, and has recently come off. We are going to make all the necessary structural repairs, strip the paint, rebuild all the gesso losses, replicate and cast the missing compo elements, and re-gild the entire piece. Stop by again to see the progress!

Fantastic plasterwork! 😍😍😍

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Another summer project under our belt: the restoration of two sets of doors in an 1869 South-End brownstone!

Subjected to decades of abuse, these once beautiful walnut doors were no longer themselves. The front doors were particularly affected, as they no longer met in the middle or were able to close.

We began by removing the most tenacious polyurethane we have ever encountered from all the street-facing sides: it took us over four entire days of work to remove it. We stained and varnished all four doors.

The project's most problematic aspect concerned the interior side of both sets, which had been painted many times. The veneer was either lifting or missing in places; the panel molding was chipped or missing; many holes and cracks marred the surface. Stripping this side of all four doors would have been very expensive, and the final outcome perhaps not as satisfactory, given the number of problems. We replicated the missing trim, re-glued the veneer, patched and sanded, and applied a faux-grain finish to the interior side.

Our restoration of a ca. 1830 New York mahogany card table is complete! We stripped the entire piece of its darkened and alligatored shellac, replaced all the missing veneer and trim at the bottom of the skirting, and French-polished the entire piece. The craftsmanship of this table is exquisite, and we are excited to see this restored piece of history in its new environment.

The beautiful residence at 18 Hereford Street in Boston - a home where Old Boston completed several projects, from repairs to two fireplace mantels to a thorough restoration of the dining-room fireplace, firebox, and hearth.

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A string of door restorations expects us this summer, and we are excited to contribute to the beautification of South-End, Back-Bay, Roxbury, and Beacon Hill homes. Several other projects are also lined up, such as the restoration of the woodwork in the reception rooms of a South-End townhouse, as well as the installation of a fireplace mantel in Charlestown.

In the meantime, other projects have been keeping us busy, not least this extraordinary card table. Built in NY ca. 1830, under terribly blackened shellac lay absolutely exquisite crotch mahogany veneer. We stripped the entire piece, and made all the necessary repairs to the missing veneer, addressing the color matchng with natural pigments. Just a reminder of what it looked like when it was delivered to us, then a few photos of the restoration in progress. We cannot wait to see the end result!

Excited to be restoring this extraordinary ca. 1830 American card table for a client soon!

At Old Boston, we bring pieces of history back to their rightful place. This wonderful Carrara-marble mantel with its original summer cover was returned to a South End home, completed with a new matching hearth.