Mahogany Door

[jmbarker]

I have just had what we thought was an Oak Door "dipped and stripped".

It turns out that this door (circa 1730) is Mahogany. It had 4 planks and it braced/legded with 3 strips at the rear.

Any views on whether this door should be polished/waxed/left as is?

It is an internal door to the cellar.

Thanks

 

[Nigel Watts]

Very curious. In 1730 mahogany would have been hideously expensive. It is almost inconceivable that someone would have used it for a humble cellar door.

 

[middi]

the imported mohogany of that era was intended to be used for very high standard joinery and very good cabinet making and intended to be highly waxed and polished.

I wonder if yours is a reused door.

Is the rest of the doors in your house of that standard ?

If the rest of the doors are painted white , it may look a bit odd staring at a polished mohogany one. Unless you strip the others.

It is a question of choise and what blends with the surrounds.

 

[jmbarker]

I dont know if the door is original to the property.

What is strange is that on the rear of the door - which was unpainted but stained - and which I think would never have been "on show", there is a number "16" very faintly marked.

The door is tongue and grooved and appears to have what is a double layer of wood - one on top of the other.

The other doors in the house are modern (and identical), so I think it will work really well as a one off feature of what is now the living room - which leads into the cellar.

Will post a picture tonight

 

[biffvernon]

What makes you think the door is c1730?

 

[jmbarker]

Property was constructed in 1730 - reliabily informed by the previous occupant that it is orginal to the construction.

I appreciate that he may not have been telling the whole truth, but from what research I have done, it appears to be consistent.

If I post a picture, this might help people to form a view

 

[Mark]

Unless the previous occupant had an extremely long white beard I dont see how they could possibly know?

It does sound very odd that mahogony would be used for a cellar door.

Combined with the number it makes it sound as if it was once a front door and has been reused?

 

[jmbarker]

It is obviously a cellar door now, but we cant rule out that it may have been a front door.

Like I said, let me post a picture (front and back) and people can form a view - this is why I have come to this forum afterall!

 

[Craig]

Its possible that mahogany would have been used - it was often seen as 2nd best to oak, etc. rather depends how old the door is.

Found this:

"The thesis also considers the effects of the introduction of mahogany on furniture manufacturing in England. It investigates the cost of mahogany relative to other furniture woods, and suggests that its chief appeal in the initial years of importation was its low cost. This suggestion is born out by the early use of mahogany as a joinery rather than a cabinet wood. The thesis goes on to argue that the cost of mahogany was often a primary determinant of stylistic and technical development. As demand for the wood grew, so costs rose and inflation became at times a notable feature of the mahogany market. The effects of this inflation are recorded in the archives of contemporary furniture makers and are apparent in extant eighteenth century furniture."

http://www.bcuc.ac.uk/main.asp?page=856

 

[Nigel Watts]

I stand corrected. Hard to see why it would have been so cheap given the huge cost and risk of shipping it from the West Indes/Central America. Perhaps ships coming back from those parts after dropping off their slaves were short of cargoes for the return journey.

Is your house near Bristol, or some other early 18thC slaving port by any chance?

 

[Nigel Watts]

Huddersfield - perhaps it came in through Liverpool?

 

[Craig]

I think thats it exactly - ballast.

 

[jmbarker]

fascinating stuff

 

[Craig]

I bought a 1840s wardrobe off ebay the other day, and was amazed to find its 100% mahogany - not just veneer but the carcass, base, etc. Amazingly generous use, but the outside stained / polished to give a darker apperance than natural mahogany so I guess the clients at the time just thought of it as fairly base material?

 

[Craig]

PS - your original question, painted or not - if it was a cellar door, my guess would be painted, but it would be lovely to be oiled or waxed, I bet.

 

[Penners]

Hard to see why it would have been so cheap given the huge cost and risk of shipping it from the West Indes/Central America

...and South America. Brazilian mahogany was always highly regarded.

 

[jmbarker]

The door - needs finishing and sanding - the two non original parts are obvious

The frame is nor original, but the door size down to the cellar is - its about 5ft 7"

 

[biffvernon]

What makes you think it is mahogany?

 

[thiambal]

I have to say - it does not look at lot like mahogany to me - and the concensus around the office agreed

Mind you, we are a bunch of nurses and teachers so what would we know

 

[jmbarker]

A carpenter friend of mine says its Mahogany. The people we bought the house off say it was Oak (but that was with 5mm of paint over laid)

I think it is Mahogany - close up, you can see the obvious red within the grain.

Open to suggestions though.

Just trying to establish if this is a little peice of history in a good wood and whatever it is, how it needs to be treated to bring it back to life.