What timber are prep tables usually made from?

Pine dominates, at 89 of 189 titles. Oak comes second with 23. Between them they cover most of what comes to market. The rest runs through country timbers: cherry, walnut, sycamore, elm, ash, beech, chestnut, maple and satin birch. French tables lean towards cherry and fruitwood.

How old are these tables?

The clean-year listings span 1800 to 1930, clustering in the 1850s, 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. Sixty-six listings say only "19th Century" with no decade. There's a genuine 20th-century tail as well, with dates into the 1900s, 1920s and 1930s. A couple of sample titles reach back further, including an 18th-century French oak table and a Welsh table given as circa 1790.

Why are they listed under so many different names?

Titles slide between prep, kitchen, farmhouse, work, serving and side table. The same physical object can appear under several of them, depending on the dealer. Farmhouse appears in 32 titles, and refectory gets used interchangeably with it in some. Reading the description matters more than the heading word.

Are French prep tables common in this category?

Yes. French appears in 44 titles, roughly a quarter of the archive, and the share is rising in live stock. They come in cherry, walnut, oak, fruitwood and sycamore or elm trestle form. Regional attributions get specific: Alsace, Provencal, Bresse.

Does original paint make a difference?

Painted tables account for 27 titles. Original paint, original painted and layers of old paint appear repeatedly in the upper half of the sampled prices. One title distinguishes its finish as later paint, which tells you the trade treats the two differently. Scandinavian painted pine is its own recurring seam, including one table described by its Falu red ochre.

What are the largest examples like?

The biggest are quoted in metres and feet. A four-metre French oak drapers table, a three-metre pine prep table doubling as a kitchen counter, a nine-and-a-half-foot two-tier harvest table and an eight-foot pine harvest table. All four sit at the top of the range. "Large" appears in 18 titles overall.