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"  Around the time that ancient man discovered the secret of making fire, he also found that a small gust of wind--or in lieu of that a judicious use of lung power--tended to encourage the burning process quite nicely. And eventually (to save his breath for cooling his pottage), he fashioned a primitive form of bellows.  Experts speculate that this early prototype was probably a small animal skin sewn to form a bag. But whatever it and subsequent devices looked like, they would have been modeled on the same basic concept: a closed container that could collect air, then expel it through a narrow valve. Though the debut date of bellows remains a mystery, we do know of lavishly decorated examples in Tudor England that sported mottoes and rhymes. And in America, surviving inventories from 1634 tell us that bellows were included among listings of pots, trivets, and other fireplace equipment.  Most of the fireplace bellows made of wood, leather, and brass that we find in antiques shops today are rarely earlier than 18th century, and most are no older than the 19th. As antiques dealer Amy Finkel confirms, &amp;quot;Old bellows certainly aren&amp;#039;t easy to come by, especially ones in good condition. After awhile, when the leather dried out and split, and the nails rusted or fell out, making the piece useless, it was often discarded.&amp;quot; At M. Finkel &amp;amp;amp; Daughter, such elements will almost always have been replaced by a professional restorer who uses the same type and quality of materials as the originals. All other components, however, including the decorated wooden boards with their projecting handles, as well as the cast-brass nozzles, are always original to the piece. All of which explains the $400 to $800 price tags on the antique bellows sold there.  How do dealers spot the genuine artifact? &amp;quot;In the shop,&amp;quot; says Amy Finkel, &amp;quot;we handle a lot of furniture and accessories, including bellows, from the early 19th century when there seemed to be a taste for colored paint and freehand or stenciled decoration. You look at the age of the paint, of the wood, of the originality of the designs. It&amp;#039;s really an instinctive kind of knowledge that dealers develop after long exposure to old objects.&amp;quot; In Amy&amp;#039;s experience, most people who buy bellows aren&amp;#039;t collectors as such, but rather antiques lovers who need them for their fireplaces. &amp;quot;And that&amp;#039;s the purpose of having them restored,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;In my opinion, we should regard bellows as useful tools and also enjoy them as decorative art--just as their original owners did.&amp;quot;  In early America, when many an artisan produced sidelines of goods that related (even distantly) to his trade, fireplace bellows might have been made by the local cooper, tanner, or brass-candlestick maker.  To earn praise today, antique bellows must have their original paint in good condition, and original nozzle. Beyond that, it&amp;#039;s a matter of rarity. Thus, turtlebacked and turned top boards are more valued than flat ones; decorated borders more coveted than plain; painted scenes--of houses, sailing ships, or cornucopia--more desirable than florals.  The heart-shaped wooden boards on these 18-inch American bellows, both circa 1840, feature designs of gold-stenciled flowers and a fruit basket. The example on the left has a flat top board ($450), while the other version is curved or &amp;quot;turtlebacked&amp;quot; ($550).  Other qualities to look for:  Handles: Even if the top one is curved (the norm for turtlebacks), the bottom handle is flat, so that when hung by its leather loop, the bellows remains flush with the wall.  Boards: The decorated top may be curved, but the bottom board is left flat to accommodate a leather-flapped hole that ingests air when the handles are drawn apart.  Leather: A nailed leather strip connects the two boards to form a collapsible box. As air is pumped in and out of the bellows, the pliable strip grows taut and then pleats.  Nozzle: When the handles of the bellows are pushed together, air is expelled through the nozzle. Just above it, leather strips hinge the tapered ends of the boards together. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.countryliving.com/shopping/antiques/a665/bellows-1006/>