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

Discussion in 'Furniture' started by S Glanz, Oct 21, 2021.

  1. SeaGoat

    SeaGoat Well-Known Member

    Is it glass or plexi?

    The inside was done with a glazing compound you use with windows.

    If he had any sort of knowledge of furniture making and or tools it wouldn't have been difficult to deconstruct, then reconstruct.
    Have you looked him or his family up on census records to see if there were furniture makers in the family?

    As far as selling it, the usefulness/practicality of the piece will come into play.
    If you are putting it in a booth, figure out the best way to style it. You're selling an *idea*, even if you're posting it online to sell, still style it for photos.

    If the family was prominent, well known and has been in the area for a long time, etc include that.
    People collect local pieces and stories too.

    The hook looks like a griffin, to me
     
  2. Northern Lights Lodge

    Northern Lights Lodge Well-Known Member

    Quirky piece indeed. Do the shelves look original to the piece? I'm just thinking aloud here. It would be odd for a hunting / gun cabinet to have curved glass; and by the same token, it seems to have a very small window for a china cabinet (even though in the 20's and 30's they did tend to have smaller windows) and odd that it would have such substantial clothing hooks if it is indeed a china cabinet. The drawer seems more appropriate for a gun cabinet - as it almost seems too small for any silverware. Could the window gunk be "roofing tar"?

    What a puzzler!
    Leslie
     
    judy likes this.
  3. Northern Lights Lodge

    Northern Lights Lodge Well-Known Member

    By the by... I did see recently that interest in "brown furniture"; by up and coming folks IS becoming more "trendy". Apparently, for instance, Jenny Lind furniture is impossible to find out east at a reasonable price. Hmmm... food for thought!
    Leslie
     
    judy likes this.
  4. verybrad

    verybrad Well-Known Member

    Based on my experience here, Pacific Northwest prices seem to be among the highest in the nation. On the other hand, prices here in semi-rural Midwest are among the lowest.
     
    judy, Gus Tuason and Potteryplease like this.
  5. SeaGoat

    SeaGoat Well-Known Member

    It reminds me of the old side by side secretary's.

    The bowed wood pieces could have originally been drawer faces, but they do look to be on the thinner side, so if the maker knew what he was doing, he could have easily known how to bend them, but then why go through the trouble and not make the top and bottom more proportionate?

    The glass also looks "short". I'm wondering if the original piece had a chipped corner, but Im not sure if it's possible to cut down bowed glass (I can't cut straight glass to save my life :rolleyes:).
    Im also wondering if the glass was from one of the double side by sides that tended to be shorter anyways.

    5f9dbb317454b5848f879851a0c8aec3.jpg a28bdbf01fa88f518e4418b790aec8b2.jpg
     
    judy and pearlsnblume like this.
  6. Fern77

    Fern77 Well-Known Member

    SeaGoat, that second one is a looker!
    As to the piece in question, nice oak, don't let it go for a few pennies.
     
    judy and Northern Lights Lodge like this.
  7. Northern Lights Lodge

    Northern Lights Lodge Well-Known Member

    Interesting! Back about 10 years ago - hubby and I took a load of "nice" (very sellable) antique and vintage furniture out West. It was selling moderately well in the semi-rural Midwest, where we had a shop. We were shocked when NOT a piece sold out West! We finally peddled it to some antique stores at a loss rather than to haul it home again. We were in the LA area - maybe that wasn't far enough North!

    Leslie
     
    judy likes this.
  8. Northern Lights Lodge

    Northern Lights Lodge Well-Known Member

    @SeaGoat
    Gosh, good points to ponder! I agree that second piece is lovely!
    Leslie
     
  9. James Conrad

    James Conrad Well-Known Member

    Yeah, a lot of "odd" in there which is typical for home shop-type pieces.
     
  10. Drew

    Drew Well-Known Member

    At the time this piece was made, it was not that unusual to have a cabinet with smaller glass area then would seem appropriate - leaving some of the items inside out of view.... this seems odd, but many 20's-30's cabinets did this. The quarter sawn oak looks to be solid, not veneered which was a cost saving method in the early 1900's. A nice home made piece....like these sorts of creations because they're one of one.
     
    judy, Bakersgma, Gus Tuason and 2 others like this.
  11. Jeff Drum

    Jeff Drum Well-Known Member

    Just a quick note that curved glass WAS readily available through the end of the 20th century, so this would not have necessarily been a salvage piece. I bought a piece of curved glass to repair a curved front china cabinet broken in a move in the late 90's. I assumed it was beyond repair, but there was a local glass shop that was very nonchalant about ordering a replacement in the exact size and curve needed. They did all kinds of window repairs and also had lots of stained glass pieces, slag glass etc.

    Unfortunately they went out of business replaced with a pizza shop soon after so I don't know if this is still available from other retail shops. And I suspect most of our glass now comes from china...
     
    Figtree3, pearlsnblume and judy like this.
  12. Lark

    Lark Well-Known Member

    I am wondering if it was a bachelor's cabinet. It is the right size and the hooks on the side would go long with that. Most bachelor's cabinets ( i own two) have solid doors but nothing says they had to. Many of the bachelor's cabinet had shelves and hanging space but not all. Some just had shelves.
     
    Figtree3 and Firemandk like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: 1930's Handmade
Forum Title Date
Furniture 1930's "Cold Wave" desk fan restoration Apr 25, 2021
Furniture Need help with identifying and valuing dresser from 1930's Dec 14, 2020
Furniture 1930's or 1940's Solid Walnut Executive Desk Aug 24, 2015
Furniture Thrift find - handmade Burl root(?) stool? Jun 13, 2023
Furniture Primitive Style Wooden Mirror Handmade? Jul 7, 2021

Share This Page