The fabrication of hardware for early furniture was a craft in itself, and a knowledge of the periods represented by the different styles is indispensable if the amateur restorer is to avoid ludicrous anachronisms. Brasses. For the sake of authenticity, many experienced furniture restorers do not remove original brass handles or keyhole escutcheon plates during refinishing. Instead, they work around them, leaving traces of the old finish and making no effort to cover the abrasive marks left by loose handles on drawer fronts. This is especially true of the rare cotterpin handles, which were held in place by iron wires bent at right angles and driven into the drawer backs. When no handles or escutcheon plates remain, handmade replicas should be obtained if possible. This requires a familiarity with the styles prevalent at the time the piece was constructed to prevent such errors as Sheraton brasses on a 1700 highboy, engraved cotterpin brasses of 1710 on a veneered mahogany Sheraton chest, or "willow" brasses, circa 1750, on a mahogany veneered serving table of 1830, for example. These details can be learned only by study and the observation of museum pieces and authentic reproductions. In general it can be stated that after 1690, all important pieces of fine American furniture were RESTORATION, REPAIR, AND REFINISHING 393 equipped with brass handles, and usually with keyhole escutcheon plates. To further generalize, simple pieces of furniture displayed simple brasses; pine furniture utilized small turned wooden knobs. Fig. 7.12. Bending jigs: A, Bow bending jig; B, Combination bending jig. Hinges. The earliest type of hinge was the butterfly hinge (Figure 7.13), made of handforged iron and fastened with handforged nails, clinched or riveted. Throughout the eighteenth century, and to some extent the first quarter of the nineteenth century, H or HL hinges (detail B) were extensively used on cupboard doors. Their ends were sometimes cut into ornamental circles or fleurdelis, as mdicated, and the hammer marks were in all probability purely incidental, rather than the intentional ornamentation noticeable in modern replicas. Strap hinges 'lever enjoyed the popularity of the H and HL hinges on cupboard doors, but Fig. 7.13. Hinges: A, Butterfly; В, Н and HL; С, Strap. 394 FURNITURE MAKING AND CABINET WORK innumerable variations were used on the covers of chests, with theii long arms cut into round or spearshaped ends, as shown in С of the drawing. All were handforged and usually beaten thin along their outside edges and ends. During the eighteenth century a rattail hinge was commonly used in Pennsylvania, New York, and, to some extent, Connecticut cupboards. Often riveted over iron washers at the backs of the door, this type of hinge could be removed simply by lifting it off its pin. Another early hinge, known as the staple, clinch, or cotterpin hinge, was often used on the lids of sixboard chests.