Maybe if we could see the whole table...?
Linda C

Almost looks like two separate types of wood...top looks like pine because of the yellow tinge in the grain and knots. (Kind of hard to tell for sure due to reflection.) Do you have a couple pics of it assembled?

Does not look very old at all. It's full of knots, indicating that it's solid wood of a lower grade. Probably made during the solid wood craze of the 70's.
Casey

70s!! That's great! LOL! I should add that we weren't after an antique....we were attracted to it before we approached the lady selling it. Our taste in furniture is definitely eclectic!

Here are a couple more pics...the ISOs are high on some of these pics as it's pretty shady in our house and using a flash just reflects the light.

Again, I apologize for the poor images! This is why I originally used the photos we took while the table was still in the garage....of course, we couldn't reassemble the table until it was in the house.

Thanks!
Kristy

If it orginated in the Philadelphia area, then it would make sense that you're looking at a Table Mountain Pine seahorse pedestal table. Note the 4 seahorse "legs" and horizontal "wave" cross members.

It's pretty obvious that it was made by some local/amateur builder, so unless there are some type of markings on the underside of the table, I highly doubt you would be able to trace the history.

That "heavy", "themed" style was pretty popular in the 40's and 50's. You would see a lot of it in "rustic" settings such as ski lodges or ocean front locations. Most notorious use was in your local seafood shack. The material is inexpensive, durable, and most often, treated with spar varnish (which yellows, hence the yellow appearance over lighter colored sections of wood). It also made the wood practically bulletproof to the elements.

Over time, as the surface would mar or become discolored due to hot coffee mugs or water stains, it was a simple matter to rough sand the tabletop, slap on a couple of new coats, and your back in business. Pieces like that in long use often develop the appearance of wood fully encased in plastic. :-)

One practice I particularly like is when they hollow out small rough "bowls" into the top surface of the table (or make use of natural knot holes), add baby crab, unique stones or shells, sand dollars, what have you, then encasing them in varnish. It makes for a very interesting conversation piece around the dinner table.

I could be wrong, but that the feel I get. :-)

Mikk, thank you for the info! I hadn't noticed the seahorses before but very much felt this table was something you'd see in a pub out east....now I can totally see it at a little hole in the wall seafood restaurant!

There are no markings...we're cool with that. Like I said, it just fit us no matter what. We aren't collectors, but always a little curious about the history of older objects we come across.

Thanks again! It's much appreciated!
Kristy

Kristy - I keep finding myself looking at your table over and over again. REALLY lovin' it! LOL

If you ever get tired of it, feel free to drop us a line :-)

LOL!!! That is actually sweet! Thanks! We love it!! We'll probably never find chairs as unique, but that's okay. The table fits us perfectly! But I'll keep you in mind if we ever need to get rid of it! ;-)

Thanks again!!
Kristy :-)

Juat have to bump this one back up the list... it's just so dog'gone appealing I don't want to lose track of it. :-)