French Bibliotheque "Bookcase, " Handmade in Wood, circa 1880s, Paris

A beautiful antique French Empire knockdown bibliotheque bookcase cabinet In the manner of Louis Majorelle France, Circa 1880s Gorgeous burl wood, with bronze mounts and trim. Me...

Glass bookcase made in France, Nantes, circa 1880. Preserved original stamp Very good condition. Wood: walnut Dimensions : Height 248...

A very good carved French oak gothic library bookcase/bibliotheque, circa 1880. This very handsome oak bookcase does break down into many parts for ease of movement and is easily dis...

A beautiful antique Victorian two-door step back bookcase cabinet USA, Circa 1880s Carved walnut, with glass front doors. Measures: 50" W x 18.75" D x 82.25" H. Good original vin...

The Mare bookcase is Inspired by the movement of the sea waves coming and going from the waves. The bookcase brings in its design the lightness and elegance of the tubes and perforated aluminum sheet. The shelves and organizing boxes...

A handsome and very well crafted English break-front bookcase or bibliotheque in solid mahogany by S.E. & R. Johnson of Warrington, England, circa 1870. Features six doors with glass panels in the upper section over a base with ten drawers on each side, flanking a middle section consisting of three doors with wooden panels. There are two adjustable shelves in each of the three upper sections, with a total of ten interior drawers. Original tear-drop pulls on doors turn to release a lever allowing the doors to be opened with the pulls as well as locked, a most unusual and attractive feature. All of the hardware is original to the bookcase including the locks. Comes with working locks and keys. Measurements: 13' 8 1/2" long x 21 1/2" - 27 1/2" deep x 101" high (8'5" high) All of the drawers are stamped with the cabinetmaker's stamp, "S.E. & R. (Ralph) Johnson, Warrington". This fine bookcase was manufactured prior to 1880 in Warrington in Cheshire, England. While information is scant, it would seem that S. E. would have been Ralph's father's workshop listed at 78 Bridge Street in Warrington, England, circa 1878. Ralph would have likely been an apprentice at that time. He opened his own workshop, presumably when his father retired. By the Edwardian period, Ralph had become a cabinet maker of some renown. Drawer locks are original and stamped "Chance Son & Co. W Chance, Son, & Co" and are listed in the 1850s directories as "Merchants and Factors" in Birmingham, England. They would have been middlemen having various merchandise made for them, primarily for export to North America. The type of locks employed in this bookcase is a lever combination lock. In the cabinet lock trade, lever locks became available circa 1855 and superseded the earlier tumbler and back-spring locks. Some points about the breakfront to note are that it is made entirely out of solid mahogany which is unusual; there are no veneers. Even the drawer sides, backs and bottoms are made of mahogany. The interior wood, i.e., the back and the insides of the cabinet is pine. One of the great features is that the upper door hardware has a dead latch that operates with the tear drop pull. You can lock the doors, but if you don't want to lock them, you can use the tear drop pull to operate the dead latch to open and close by turning it to the right. There are 20 exterior drawers and 8 interior drawers. Lower cabinets each have 1 fixed shelf; upper cabinets have 2 adjustable shelves each. There are enough extra original cast iron shelf...