Leather experts - Thinking of buying an antique chair, leather may be beyond repair?

[.jacob]

Several months ago I was browsing some antique shops and I came across this very cool antique chair from the 1920s. The shop owner told me they won it at auction form an estate sale in France. The chair is very good looking and the leather has worn just beautifuly.

However, in some areas, especially on the seat, the leather is starting to crack and flake away. It looks like it's coming off in chips. Is this something that is repairable, or with leather conditioner could be made to stop?

It's a great looking chair because of the leather wear, but if it's going to rip badly after a little use then I can't justify dropping a few thousand on something that would probably need to be recovered with new leather thus negating the entire reason I liked it in the first place.

Thanks,

Jacob

[the wit of the staircase]

i don't know a whole lot about old leather but i do mess with old furniture in general a good bit. it's really hard to say anything useful without seeing pictures. but it sounds like it's starting to oxidize. that is normal. further damage can probably be stopped with proper care. i've used pecard but something else might be better suited for your needs. what i mean by that is that it's not cracking and flaking due to use, but rather neglect. if leather isn't cared for it will eventually turn to dust, which is what is starting to happen here. so if you use it and although it's not actually an antique, if it is collectable you would want to avoid having repairs done on it if you can. it's far more valuable in an original state. this is not always true, but it's a general guide. however, i'm sure that it could probably be repaired if that's the route you choose. it wouldn't have to be recovered to be repaired. and if you do get it, keep it away from heat and sunlight.