Late 19th Century English Bookcase

Ancient large lacquered and gilded bookcase, hand-carved with columns and rich gilded friezes, built entirely by hand in the middle of the 19th century for an important building in n...

An exceptional late 19th century secretaire bookcase by Edwards & Roberts, the upper section with a pierced fretwork swan neck pediment with Greek key moulding. The twin astragal glazed doors open to reveal an adjustable shelved interior, having reeded canted corners. Constructed using the finest figured mahogany with satinwood and boxwood line inlaid detail. The lower section having figured mahogany top, banded in satinwood above a secretaire drawer depicting a central classical urn within a floral swags, enclosing six Satinwood drawers, six pigeon holes and a gilt tooled leather inset writing surface. The twin panelled doors again constructed from figured mahogany with boxwood, satinwood inlaid panels depicting classical urns within a floral border. Also having reeded canted corners and enclosing an adjustable shelve interior, resting on solid mahogany bracket feet. Circa 1900 English Artists Biography: Edwards & Roberts was founded in 1845, and had premises at 21 Wardour Street London. By 1892 they occupied more than a dozen buildings in Wardour Street, where they continued to trade until the end of the century. They became one of the leading London cabinet makers and retailers working in a variety of styles, both modern and revivalist. Their business also involved retailing, adapting and restoring the finest antique furniture and there are many examples of their earlier furniture with later embellishments bearing their stamp. Edwards & Roberts specialized in marquetry, inlay and ormolu. Edwards & Roberts was one of the principal London companies working in the taste of the late 18th century. They started business in 1845 and by 1854 were trading as "Edwards & Roberts, 21 Wardour Street, Antique and Modern Cabinet Makers and Importers of Ancient Furniture". Wardour Street became an important furniture retailing area in the second half of the 19th century. The firm carried a fine and complete library...

Late 19th-century English mahogany chemist's shelf with a distinctive architectural form. This uniquely crafted piece features elliptical shelves supported by a slender turned column...

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...