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Help with identifying a French cabinet

Discussion in 'Furniture' started by Howard Alward, Jul 10, 2023.

  1. Howard Alward

    Howard Alward Member

    Short long story: my late wife's mother worked admin/security at Dayton's (Dayton Hudson) in Detroit in the 1960s. She found this in the clearance basement for $90 and she scooped it up. About 3 weeks later she heard that the cabinet had been mis-priced; it was supposed to be on clearance for $900!!. At the time, Detroit was the nation's richest city and Dayton's was like Neiman Marcus. It was made with "wormed" wood! It looks to be ash or oak? All dowelled/pinned, no screws. Link to all (full size) photos: https://dingpatch.smugmug.com/French-Cabinet
     

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    Figtree3 likes this.
  2. verybrad

    verybrad Well-Known Member

    It is oak and appears to be well made. I don't think it is any older than when it was bought. The wood may have been intentionally distressed or it was made with old wood.
     
    Figtree3, Ghopper1924 and johnnycb09 like this.
  3. Howard Alward

    Howard Alward Member

    Yes, not too old. The wood is 'natural' and the worming is real. I work with old, distressed, woods when I make special surfboard fins.
     
    verybrad likes this.
  4. Ghopper1924

    Ghopper1924 Well-Known Member

    This is a French oak export cabinet. Very traditional styling for the 1960s, including the 1890s-inspired wine staining. As VeryBrad noted, a nice quality piece.
    However, it’s a stretch to think that even a Norman-Marcus-style store would have marked this piece “down” to $900 in the 1960s. $90 sounds more like it, given time and inflation.
     
    Figtree3 and komokwa like this.
  5. Howard Alward

    Howard Alward Member

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