Toronto - The 17th Century gateleg table is really just a form of drop-leaf table. Over the years as the drop-leaf table evolved with the changing styles, so did the shape and design of the legs. Early in the 18th Century, the Queen Anne cabriole gateleg replaced the turned gateleg. A little later the cabriole leg was displaced by the square or block Chippendale leg. The Federal period in the United States brought in a more delicate tapered square leg, and so on, and so on.

    That is why aesthetically the "gate" of the William-and-Mary, gateleg table is the element that distinguishes it from all other drop-leaf styles. It may be small, large enough to hold a candle and a few papers - or large enough to use as a dining table (some accommodate up to a dozen people), but every William-and-Mary gateleg table displays a contrast between the robust lines of the legs and gates (usually totaling eight members) and the simple smooth top. The turned leg, however, with its turned urns and rings is what quickly identifies it as a William-and-Mary piece.

    In reality the chances of finding an unidentified period gateleg table are fairly slim. More often you'll find an old copy being sold as a period piece.

    During the first quarter of the 20th Century, both large manufacturers and smaller, custom furniture makers, produced countless varieties of the versatile gateleg table.

    Back then, 17th Century furniture was so revered that the 1927 Furniture Dealers' Reference Book proclaimed William-and Mary furniture to be, "… admirably adapted to present day homes, attractive simple, and not difficult to reproduce."

    With so many pieces mistakenly tagged "period pieces" how can you distinguish between the two? No matter how old the exterior looks (remember that 60 or more years of constant use leave surface nicks, dents, and marks that make a piece appear older than it really is), the obvious 20th Century fingerprints found underneath, and inside - modern saw marks, machine cut dovetails at the drawers, modern nails, and screws or hinges - will instantly give a new but old-looking piece away.

    If a first inspection fails to turn up any of the above, it is time to turn the table over and look for signs of wear where the heavy gates would have been moved in and out for over 250 odd years.

    The combined weight and pressure of the two parts, the leaf and the swing-gate, rubbing against one another will have left a clear pattern or shallow groove on the leafs under side.

    Early gateleg tables were usually made of walnut or maple, and the later ones of mahogany. Though there are some tables with straight or unshaped leaves, the oval leaf that ends just above the stretcher is most desirable. Now comes the question of price. Well-proportioned gateleg tables with good turnings and from the correct period generally cost $10,000 to $30,000. Reproduction or early 20th Century and late 19th Century gateleg tables of fine quality, especially custom-made pieces, usually run from the low thousands to as high as eight or ten thousand.

    The gateleg table provides a functional and interesting addition to a good furniture collection.