Antique Chippendale Dresser

Q: I inherited an antique Chippendale maple dresser with four drawers. There’s a large tag inside one drawer that’s titled “Florian Papp.” Handwritten information on the card says the dresser is a “genuine antique” made in New England and that it was sold by Florian Papp in 1927. I would like to learn more.

A: Florian Papp (1883-1965) was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States in about 1900. He worked as a cabinetmaker and furniture restorer before opening a gallery in New York City where he specialized in selling European antiques. The Florian Papp antiques and art gallery is still in business, now operated by the third generation of the Papp family. It has always been a very important gallery, and the provenance on the card is a guarantee that the dresser was made in New England and is not a reproduction.