What is this?

shelf unit........all of the above !

 

Id call it an etagere ,victorian/eastlake style (yes,Im up too late!) . Its gorgeous !

 

Thank you! About how old is it and what are these used for?
We just had it repaired at a restoration place after it was damaged during shipment from PA to CA.

 

it's used for displaying items of value that you wish to see on an ongoing basis..

 

I'd call it a vitrine.

 

I am goin with @johnnycb09 on this one, etagere because it has open shelves, a vitrine is glassed, i could be wrong about this.
I don't think it's old, it looks fairly new, done in the Victorian style.

 

The stick and ball decoration reminds me of Hunzinger / Merklin Brothers N.Y. Might be a nice repro - what does the back look like?

 

I don't think it has the refinement of style of a Hunzinger, and I'm not sure I've seen any case pieces attributed to him. The image below is attributed to him, by whom I don't know. His chairs look like fantasy plumbing made of wood, a romance of the new machine-age. Stick and ball was a very typical and often-copied design element for the so-called "Eastlake" style. A simple and cheap way
to cover expanses!

 

Appreciate the responses, here is a picture of the back and side.

 

Side view,
The piece was just refinished, new locking piece, broken leg, side pieces and a coat of varnish.
As I understand the story, the piece was given to my grandmother in the 50’s in the Philly area.

 

Hello and thank you to all who commented on the thread. We know very little about antiques, your knowledge and time is appreciated.
To laura9797, I posted a picture of the back of the piece as you requested, did it tell you anything further?

 

It looks old and refinished. Dates to around 1900. Agree with Johnny that it's an etagere, but with a small enclosed display cabinet added on to the front left. I may be wrong, but as I remember vitrines had to have glass on the sides as well.

I would not guess this is Hunzinger. His designs were more radical; I like Darkwing's description. Besides, as mentioned above, I don't think I've seen an etagere by Hunginzer.....He was famous for chairs, and I've even seen a shaving stand by him. Mostly smaller pieces.

 

Hello Ghopper1924, very interesting you would mention a shaving stand built by Hunginzer. My grandmother use to display an old shaving kit on this piece. It was a shaving cream mug, shaving brush and straight razor. My mom recalls my grandmother thinking it may have come from a barber shop.

 

Ted J.! Another coincidence: I've got a shaving stand by Thomas Brooks coming any day now. It was made ca. 1860. I sure wish I had your grandmother's shaving kit to display with it!