Featured Expanding library table with gears. Age? Anything special?

Hi Folks, Been exploring this forum here and there, and thought I'd join up.

Picked up this library table a few years ago, wondering if it's anything special/ valuable? The lady I got it from brought it down from the Northeast US decades ago and seemed to think it was something special.

It opens up with gears, and there are a couple leaves (leafs?) that pop up and rotate (like a hinged "V") to make it larger. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! John



That's dust...



Gears

Detail

Legs

Medallion at the center of the horizontal spreader.


Edge detail

underside detail


Thanks for looking!

 

Couple more pics, with the leafs/ leaves in place. Someone correct me...




And another from underneath, that's dust.

 

Looks to, cleverly made, sometime after 1900,in my opinion.be a good quality piece of furniture. I'd say leaves.

 

I know nothing about furniture, but I covet this. A lot.
I say "leaves" as well.

 

It's easy in Spanish; a leaf (on tables or trees) is hoja; plural is hojas!

 

I love this and have wanted a library table for a long time. The inlay is beautiful.

Not a furniture expert, but am a lover of this table!

 

Me too! It's very nice, John, though not ancient.

Welcome aboard!

 

Hola, welcome! If you like, it's customary to introduce yourself through the "Introductions" Forum. We'd (I'd) love to know more about you!

 

Me three! Love it and like others always wanted a library table.

As to age, I suspect 20th century, but wait for more knowledgeable folks to chime in. I have a Sheraton style single pedestal (urn and 4 reed legs that curved outward to brass feet w/castors) dining table with similar expanding gears by Baker Furniture. My mother bought it new in 1984 to use in her new retirement community condo. I am using it now in our dining room. When the expansion gears are fully opened/extended, a narrow leg at each end folds down giving additional support to the table. Closed up the table sits 4 comfortable and when expanded sits 8 comfortable. With the gear operation, I can expand (pull it apart) easily by myself. The table we had before this took 2 people to tug and pull it apart.

--- Susan

 

Circa 1925 patent furniture. Console or sofa table that converts to a dining table. The mechanism for this was available to different manufacturers so impossible to ID who actually made it. Variations of this mechanism are still available today. Wood is walnut veneer with something else as an accent on the ends. Kind of looks like pecan but the grain seems too prominent. Not impossibly rare but they don't come up all the time either. A table like this was significantly more expensive than a standard one so a lot less were sold.

 

Hi,
I am on my fourth library table and only #3 had a gear set which turned it into a small dining table. When I found it, it was painted black and under the black was yellow and under it green. When I finally got it all stripped and got it all back together. My cousin came along and I gave it to him as long as he gave me my Gram's mirror. He was so determined to get the table he agreed almost to anything.
I should have demanded his father's shaving set but I knew that was too much.
greg

 

I had a dining room table with the same gears .

 

Here is the patent, dated 1917. "table extension gears"

https://www.google.com/patents/US17...ved=0CCoQ6AEwAmoVChMI39mOwLXCyAIVxHg-Ch2JYAbS

Andy

 

Sorry that was patent filed, 1925.

 

WOW thanks everybody. Pretty cool!

 

For what it's worth, that's a rack-and-pinion mechanism.

 

I've always called that style and size table a sofa table. It would have been placed behind a sofa that wasn't against a wall but free standing in a larger room. I also think it could have been a card or game table when opened up with the leaf in place.