Featured 1930's Handmade Cabinet - questions....

Hello, I have a cabinet that was given to me and I was told it was handmade by the owner's great uncle in the 1930's. It is very heavy, with curved glass that was set in with some kind of plaster? and it has cool hardware (serpent hooks on each side and hoosier?-hinges and square/diamond pegs as accents). My question is: are handmade antiques like this more or less valuable than ones that were made by furniture stores back then. Also, do you concur it would have been made in the 30's? and what is that plaster-stuff they used to set in the curved glass? Is the hardware valuable to repurpose? Lastly, is this oak? why does it have so many cool zebra-type lines in the wood?

 

I don't know....but
the hardware looks cool enuf to be original
curved glass is old glass...and nice to have it in good shape
the oak is quarter sawn and looks lovely..
& it's a nice enuf piece to sell whole and not bust up for parts...imo..



@Ghopper1924
@verybrad
@James Conrad

The item stands by itself as it is what it is.....whether bench made or factory
made............unless you have papers to prove who and where it was made.

 

Hoping to get more answers to my questions, but I thank you @komokwa, I really love the hardware to the point I was thinking of taking it off but won't if I learn more. I am 99.9% positive the owner wasn't lying when she said her great uncle made it, I was in the home of where it came from with lots of antiques not upgraded in the least.

 

The story makes sense; it could even have taken place earlier, say the nineteen-teens. As Komo said, the flakes in the oak are from being quarter sawn, a method that is sadly no longer used because of the expense. The hardware is rather "picturesque" but goes with the cabinet.

Overall project pieces are typically worth less than those made by professional manufacturers. However, this is an unusually high quality piece. I can't say how much it would bring but I would recommend keeping it both as a high quality piece and as part of a family legacy.

 

I would have thought it was about 20 years earlier. How are the glass pulls held in place?

 

I love it! Don't change out the hardware! And I'm on the same "age page" as MOS.

 

I love it, it pains me to pass it along, but I'm not keeping it that is why I ask the questions in my original post - hoping to get some of those answers.

 

The biggest argument (to my mind) against it being homemade is the curved glass. Anyone could get that done so long as they knew who could do it, but I can't see it being done at home, and ordering a one-off would be expensive. A company manufacturing such pieces would have the necessary contacts and be able to order a sufficient quantity to keep the cost under control.

I suppose it could have been salvaged from some other piece.

 

It is a beauty. I could store my cookbooks in there proudly.

 

An yet @moreotherstuff, I believe this is the finishing of the setting of the inside of the bent glass front....which tends to look rather "home done".....at least, to me!! (SOMEONE please correct me if I'm wrong!!!!) But I just LOVE the whole cabinet!!!!!!!!!!! WOULDN'T change a thing either!!!!! WISH I had room for it!!!!

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Patience friend...........we're not always here all of the time......more answers will come in as soon as possible...
in the meantime...what size is it....where are u located.....where did it come from....and how are u planning on ....passing it along ?

Brown furniture...even as nice as this ....is is a soft market now....with some exceptions..

 

It is going to take someone better familiar with furniture than I, to comment on that.

 

Yeah, I am goin with Ghopper on this one.
Although well out of my interest area, the piece is way out of proportion for a glass display cab and looks very much like a home shop type piece.

 

I'll add to being adorable. I love it too!

 

Also, the door and drawer are curved to match that of the glass - not impossible but out of the ordinary to do at home.

 

I think probably home made from salvaged parts. Hinges are typical of old ice-box or commercial fixture hardware. Parts and styling are older than the 30s but see how it could have been made then. The putty holding the glass in is probably glazer's compound. As others have said, proportions are a bit odd on this so doubt it is worth as much as a factory piece. Don't think the glass knobs do it much justice either. Value would be very dependent on where and how selling. Here in my semi-rural Midwest location, I would be lucky to get $100 for it selling as an individual on fb marketplace or craigslist. Perhaps it would be worth more at retail and a lot less at auction or other wholesale venue. In or near a big city, this could be worth a bit more.

 

@s.g

@S Glanz , how tall is the main portion inside and do the shelves look like they were added later ? It looks like a home made Gun Cabinet , a lot of gun cabinets have ammo drawers in the bottom. I like it .....

 

the hat and coat hanger on the side would go along way to suggesting that , too !

 

It looks quirky. And that is a compliment! I like it.

 

I really like this piece and I believe that here in the Northwest I could probably have no problem selling this piece for about $500. The glass knobs look to be identical to knobs on a 1910 dental cabinet I have. The diamond decorations on either side of the front are a nice touch and may cover screw or nail fasteners. Great piece.