Bookcase, French Ebonized Walnut with Original Finish

The best word I can think of to describe our newest find is; Presence. This absolutely incredibly elegant Très grande bibliotheque from Nîmes, France, simply makes the room, with its undeniable presence. Whether it’s the mammoth scale of the bookcase, or the combination of the ebonized walnut and the indescribable painted interior colour (we’re still searching for a name), something just clicked and made our antique bookcase quite special. Finding a genuine antique French bookcase, that measures roughly twelve and a half feet in length, that was not assembled from a bunch of old wood bits sitting around a guy’s workshop, is a rare occurrence. In our over 30-years of importing from Europe, we might have had two or three that were genuine. This huge antique French bookcase was fabricated from French solid walnut and certainly dates from the 1800’s. Look carefully at the wavy hand-made glass and that pretty much tells the whole story, for we are unaware that anyone produces new glass this good. Generally, when you find a bookcase, or display cabinet of this stature, you’ll discover that its history was probably from a public institution, be it a school, library, or even a high-end department store, but generally they are deathly tired. Fortunately, that was not the case with this antique French bookcase. Our antique bibliotheque was discovered in the town of Nîmes, a city in the Occitanie region of southern France. Little history; Nîmes was an important part of the Roman Empire and the city is most famous for the Arena of Nîmes, a double-tiered circa-70 A.D. amphitheater still in use today. Also, the famous Pont du Gard...

Antique Fitted French Tack Cabinet from a vineyard in the South of France near the town of Bezier, circa 1880-1900. The sliding doors still have their han...

This is a perfect example of Classic French Louis XVI design and available in your specific dimensions and finishes. Our Old Plank Workshop will build to suit, the old fashion way, b...

Magnificent antique French white oak bookcase, with 2-doors, both retaining their original wavy glass. We located this antique French bookcase, chin...

Handmade Country French style glazed bookcase or display cabinet. This great looking piece was crafted right here in our Old Plank workshop. As these are custom pieces, you can selec...

Antique French Bibliothèque, or antique French bookcase was constructed in the style referred to as Louis Philippe (King Louis Philippe I 1830–1848). Our Antique Louis Philippe French...

Austrian Biedermeier (Circa 1825) walnut veneer and ebonized trimmed bookcase with demilune 3 drawer commode base and upper section with 2 doors and 4 small drawers.

This French walnut bookcase has a wire mesh door with beveled ebonized scalloped framing. The stiles and frieze have convex banding in heavy cas...

An unusual and quite rare Edwardian antique bookcase cabinet with the original burnt patterned finish. Circa 1900. The original finish to this decorative cabinet does have a sligh...

French Art Deco ebonized 2-section bookcase cabinet with top section having sliding glass and lacquered doors above a base with 2 doors (Manner of Pierre Chareau)

Early 20th century ebonized neoclassic bookcase in carved and turned walnut hand lacquered and polished with wax Measures cm: H 126 x W 123 x D 45.

A French Restauration period walnut breakfront bookcase from the early 19th century, with glass doors and fluted accents. Created in France during the first quarter of the 19th centu...