A Village of Oak Creek man is one of those rare individuals who can look at a battered, weather-wearied and warped table and see the beautiful piece of furniture it once was — and could be again.
Brook Cunningham has spent most of his lifetime around antiques, collecting and restoring them to their as-new brilliance.
He especially likes American-made oak furniture. His house is filled with antique oak bookcases, tables of all sorts, chairs, a fireplace mantle and dressers. Few modern pieces are included in Cunningham’s decor.
“I just love antiques. My very first interest occurred when I was about 7 years old and found an antique advertisement. It was just a little ad, but it fascinated me,” Cunningham said. “I kept it for a long time, but somewhere along the way it got lost.”
His love for antiques has never waned. On his home’s walls are several antique advertisements for all sorts of companies, along with items like tip trays and sandwich plates popular during the last part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century.
The blossoming of Cunningham’s passion for antiques came during high school when he began to buy and sell antiques, thus beginning a career he still enjoys. After high school Cunningham went to college, then to Vietnam. He was a pilot during the war.
“I started buying and selling full-time in Northern California through the Mother Lode country: Sutter’s Mill, Placerville and those little mining towns. There were antiques all over the place,” Cunningham said.
His passion grew through his contact with dealers and working more with antiques.
“I think American-made antiques are far superior to anywhere. We had the best furniture builders come to America to create designs they couldn’t create in Europe or elsewhere,” Cunningham said as he swept his hand gently across the top of an oak table. “The early designers were very clever with what they did.”
Early in his career, Cunningham started working in restoration. In the late 1970s, he teamed up with a friend from high school who became a master restorer and learned the art of restoring antique furniture.
He demonstrated what he meant with the oak mantle. One of the two ornate three-feet tall dowels down the side was missing when he acquired the piece. Cunningham made a new dowel that looks like the twin of the original. Side by side there appears to be no difference — even after Cunningham identified the reproduction.
“Part of my passion for antiques is I feel as if I’m rubbing elbows with history. Just think about who made the piece, who owned it and used it, what life it has seen and now here it is with all of that history surrounding it,” Cunningham said as he opened tiny cupboards of a dentist’s cabinet using tiny porcelain knobs. “It’s incredible to see some pieces people bring me that I’ve never seen before.”
Another piece Cunningham enjoys is an oak and glass nickelodeon. He put a nickel in the nickelodeon, cranked it up and said, “Can’t you just see the Gibson girl ladies walking around?” The tin comb’s teeth plucked out the tune as the disk turned, much like small music boxes do.
“I like to breathe new life into old things. That’s what I do. That’s what I love to do,” Cunningham said as he leafed through a photo album of before and after pictures.
In restoration, Cunningham uses approved techniques so the piece maintains its integrity and value. He has a full restoration workshop in one of his garage bays.
“Now some say you shouldn’t touch any antiques, but in most cases antiques that are restored have a higher value than those which are not, if done properly,” Cunningham said. “There are some pieces, like pre-1800, that should not be touched. We’re talking about very rare pieces.”
He invites anyone who has an antique piece to give him a call.
