The Knapp Joint Explained
I always love it when I open a drawer on an antique piece of furniture and see a Knapp joint. They are unique and just make me smile! If it is a piece I am painting, I love highlighting the detail with paint. I wanted to share a little bit of the history behind them, just for fun and because I’m a bit of a furniture nerd!
What is a Knapp joint?
The Knapp joint, also known as a pin and cove, pin and crescent, scallop and dowel, or half moon joint, was patented by Charles Knapp in 1867. In 1871, the Knapp Dovetailng Co. began producing machines that could make these joints and transformed the furniture-making industry. At this time in the Industrial Revolution, factories in the United States were using machines for almost all furniture construction, except for the drawers. With these new machines, a factory could increase its drawer production by 10 times when compared to a traditional hand-cut dovetail joint.
Dating a piece of furniture
The Knapp joint only stayed in use for about 30 years. Today, when you see a Knapp joint, chances are that the piece was made between 1871-1900. Around 1900, joinery machines capable of creating a dovetailed joint that looked handmade became available. As a result, the Knapp joint quickly fell out of favor. Machine-cut dovetails are still in use today.
Styles that use Knapp joints
Knapp joints are most often associated with Eastlake and other Victorian-era furniture. Factories in the East and Midwest were most likely to use this new technology, and the joints were never mass-produced outside the US or Canada.
Summary
The Knapp joint was only in production for a limited amount of time. It fell out of favor at the time because it looked “factory made” and a more traditional dovetail was preferred. However, when you see this type of joint on a piece today it tells us that the piece is almost certainly made at the end of the 19th century and is an antique.
I hope you loved learning this little bit of history as much as I did! It’s always so interesting to think of the life that an antique or vintage piece of furniture has lived. Little clues like these give us a little insight into when and where a piece was made.
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