Cherner Side Chair

A few months ago, my good friend Rick found a Cherner side chair at a small local store in his town of Miami. Rick only paid $25 for his chair. He said it looked pretty rough, but was able to bring it back to life with a good cleaning.

Last month, while scavenging for vintage Fiesta at our local antique mall, I happened upon a Cherner side chair. At $175, I passed.

But Rick encouraged me to go back and check the chair out more carefully to see if it is an original piece (reproductions go for $659). And since this is 15% off weekend, I decided to do just that.

Apparently, I didn't inspect the chair well enough when I saw it the first time. There was a big, honking divot carved out of the back.

Plus, it looks like someone tried to restore it, but did a poor job and wiping up the varnish drips.

So, once again, I passed. It's too bad, too. Had it not been for the damage, this mid-century treasure would possibly have been adopted into my home.