What's the difference between a side and occasional table?

Very little in practice. Both names cover the same small movable table, and dealers pick whichever word suits the room they picture it in. Titles bear this out. One sampled set of tables was described as sofa, lamp, side, occasional, low, coffee and wine, all in the same line.

Which woods are most common?

Mahogany and oak, by a distance. Mahogany appears in 3,635 titles and oak in 1,677, together accounting for half the category. At the decorative end the timbers change. Burr walnut, rosewood and satinwood recur, with marquetry work alongside them. Pine titles cluster at the plain end.

How old are most side tables for sale?

Dealer dates run from 1660 to 1960, though fewer than four in ten listings carry a clean year. The labels are broad. "19th Century" is the largest single bucket, followed by 18th Century, Georgian, Victorian and Regency, so treat any of those as a span rather than a date. Twentieth-century work is well represented too, particularly the 1900s, 1920s and 1930s.

Are pairs of side tables often listed?

About one title in twenty describes a pair rather than a single table. Pairs sit well above comparable singles in the range, and the top of the category is held largely by pairs of console, giltwood, walnut and marble-topped tables.

What is a Sutherland table?

A narrow-bodied drop-leaf table with very deep flaps, so it folds down to almost nothing and opens out to a usable surface. In the listings it appears repeatedly in burr walnut, which is the figured timber of choice at the decorative end of this category.

Do non-English side tables turn up?

Yes, as a steady minority. French is the commonest, appearing in 670 titles, with Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Flemish examples alongside. Anglo-Indian and Oriental work forms its own thread: carved elephant-leg tables, Hoshiarpur inlay, Burmese lacquer, Goanese pieces, Chinese hardwood and huanghuali, and Japanese red lacquer nests.