The first thing you have to do is to determine which period your piece of furniture falls into (whether it is Queen Anne or Victorian, etc.). The presence of original brasses will help your to date your antique. If hardware has to be replaced, you shouldn't overpower the furniture item with gigantic or overly ornate brasses. Keep the hardware simple and within the time period of the piece. Our hints will help you decide which hardware items will be best for your furniture.

Be sure the new brasses have the same measurement between the bore holes as the original.

The boring holes may reveal cotter pin marks. The presence of these marks is a good indication that the furniture dates to the William and Mary Period.

The lines of the original brasses may be discovered from the shadow of the backplate embedded in the wood.

Reproduction brasses should be chosen to closely match the original.

Check the escutcheon against the handle design. Handles wear out before keyholes. If the handles and the keyholes don't match, use the keyhole as the indication of the age of the piece.

Look at the back of the bail handle for a signature. A collector will date an antique by using the maker's name. The ends of the balls also indicate age. If the ends are square, they are hand-made. Round-ended balls usually indicate they were machined.

The screws should also be examined. If they are like flat tires, they were hand made sometime before 1800. If the nut is attached to the washer, they were probably made in the Victorian period.

Before 1750, brasses were light in color because they had a large content of zinc and tin. After 1750, hardware became much darker because copper was mixed in.

Hardware enhances the value of your antique furniture. Don't buy a three thousand dollar dresser and add a dollar handle!