Buying antique sofas: what to look for

● Large button-back leather sofas are commonly referred to as chesterfields in the UK, although the term also applies to the same style of low, buttonbacked sofas upholstered in fabric. The look is very Victorian, whereas in America this style of sofa is commonly referred to as a Davenport, after the Massachusetts manufacturer A. H. Davenport, who supplied upmarket furniture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

● Be careful when viewing at auction as sofas can hide a multitude of problems. Upholstery is like the bodywork on an old car and what looks good on top can be a nightmare underneath, with major and costly respringing and rewebbing required.

● Some sofas wear their problems on the outside, particularly French canapés, which need to be structurally sound. When buying at auction, make sure the legs and arms are steady and wellconnected before you take the plunge. These are key areas where decades of use can take its toll and cause problems with gilding and paint finishes, too.

● Be aware of the legalities of buying secondhand sofas. It is a legal requirement for more modern furnishings to be fire retardant, but this does not apply to antique sofas. This is also the case when antique items are reupholstered, although many craftspeople will use a mixture of traditional and modern materials when reupholstering soft furnishings. Be safe in your home.

● Legs are a key area for repairs on old sofas . ‘Show-wood’ sofas of the early 19th-century and early Victorian period often have turned prominent legs with castors, which having been dragged across floors for a couple of hundred years, are often reglued and screwed back on. The castor cup inserts are very vulnerable and sometimes may have even been cut off, making the sofa lower than it should be. Be sure you don’t buy a sofa that has been too heavily cobbled back together.