Hidden secrets

Sometimes when people show you things that they are selling there is no convincing them if they think white is black. I may not know that much, but after 15 years I am pretty certain what silky oak looks like but some folks will not believe me they will insist that the piece of furniture they are showing me is silky oak, when it is pine or cedar. The picture of the sweet little lift up piece above that I bought this morning is a case point. The person insisted it was made of silky oak and that it had been in the family for a hundred years and had always been as it now stands. I did not bother to disagree. Even though it started out life as a mahogany hall stand and was probably cut down in the 1950's/60's when the fashion was for low level furniture and many sideboards and hallstands lost their upperhalves. The old faded auction sticker on its back, I noticed when I lifted it into my ute, also made me wonder about the family history.
The great looking old fan that came from the same house had a history at first I did not detect. It looked fine so I plugged it in and it worked fine. After I unplugged it I noticed on the little cord that runs from the base and the engine of the fan a blob of insulation tape I really should have noticed before. When I undid it there was some small bits of plastic that connected different bits of exposed wire. So the cord will have to be cut on this one before I sell it.

Click on image to enlarge. If you need to contact me please email at boathome@bigpond.net.au