Photo Check

Is it real?

Upload up to four photos of one piece: the whole piece, the label or mark, the joinery, the legs. In seconds you get a read of the likely maker and era, the red flags, and exactly what to check in person. Good furniture leaves clues. This helps you read them before you trust the listing.

An instant, automated read from your photos, not an in-person appraisal; no person reviews them. Included, unlimited, with any LBD guide.

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Sign in with your checkout email (or create a free account with it) and open My Library once. Photo Check then opens on this tab.

What it gives you

Likely maker and era

Named only when a label, stamp or mark in your photos supports it. Otherwise it says the maker is not identified.

Red flags

Replaced hardware, later refinishes, mismatched parts and material questions worth a closer look.

What to check in person

A short, ordered list for the viewing, so excitement does not get ahead of the inspection.

What an answer looks like

Example only. This answer was written for four photos of one dresser: photo 1, the whole piece; photo 2, the top edge; photo 3, an open drawer; photo 4, the legs. The read is automatic and instant; no person reviews your photos.

Example

Example answer · Photos read in part

A walnut-faced dresser with tapered legs and recessed pulls. The proportions and hardware point to American mid-century production. No label or mark is visible, so attribution stays open.

Likely era: Likely 1955 to 1970, based on the leg profile, the pull style and the drawer construction in photo 3.
Maker: Maker not identifiable from these photos. No legible label, stamp or mark that supports a name is visible.

Red flags

The top edge in photo 2 shows a thin, even band. It may be edge banding over a substrate, so check whether the grain wraps the edge or stops.
One pull sits slightly off the line of the others, which can mean replaced hardware.
The top looks glossier than the sides, a common sign of a later refinish.

Check in person

Pull a drawer all the way out and look at the joinery at the back corners.
Look inside the drawers and on the back panel for a stamp, label or paper tag.
Run a hand under the top edge to feel for lifting veneer.
Rock the piece gently to test the legs and their mounts.

An instant read from your photos, not an in-person appraisal.

What it will not do

It never puts a dollar value on a piece.
It never names a maker the photos do not support.
When the photos are unclear, it says so instead of guessing.
Your photos are used for the check and not kept afterward.

Get Photo Check with any guide · from $19

Included with any LBD guide

Photo Check comes with the Material Atlas, the Field Kit, the Mid-Century Detective or the Complete Buyer’s Bundle. The guides teach you to read the evidence. Photo Check points you to it on the piece in front of you.

Get Photo Check with any guide · from $19

Already own a guide?

Sign in, or create a free LBD account, with the email you used at checkout.
Open My Library once. Your guide attaches to your account, including a guest purchase.
Come back to this tab. Photo Check opens here, ready for your photos.

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