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The Deco china inside would greatly interest a dealer friend of mine in Essex. You can't be me, I'm taken
It, the cabinet, not the cat, came out of my Dad's house and I had assumed it was an old New England piece. I always thought it had come out of my grandparents house from the early part of the 1900's. My folks always called it a barrister bookcase. The bottom three units have plain glass and all the units have these interesting brass straps and corner decorations. I don't know if they were all originally leaded, or if the top was a replacement piece.
Sometime before 1900, a Finnish furniture company, based at a place west of Helsinki called Bilnäs (Beakness), bought the rights to the design to make the range in Finland. It was copied exactly. In the 30's a lot of the Finnish range was available in birch. And new designs were added for contract furnishing. Post-WWII a lot of it was taken out of offices and burnt in the yard, fired by a general desire to get away from 'Dour'. Marimekko was a successful post-war company because it brought colour to the home.
Anyway I used to have a house full of Bilnäs, but when you're on the move more it gets to be a drag needing 4 guys every time to move your roll top. I've still get some cupboards and chairs, but I finally sold the old roll top before this last move.
And in the synchronicity dept: the maestro of distressing, who builds all the Bonk machines and artefacts, is currently making exact reproductions of your barrister's bookcase. They sell very well. You can't be me, I'm taken
See them all over the place in the Midwest. The stacks were interchangeable with clear, leaded, leaded-beveled sections. You'll find them in all sorts of different configurations. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
We bought ours when Mikasa was 'last chance' remaindering them out.
Its a good quality 'everyday-fancy' set of tableware.
The bookcase is US normal 1910 era design. We like the Craftsman, as it is called here, furniture and between inheriting some and buying the rest - before it became popular and prices skyrocketed - we have quite a bit of it. Looks great in our 1910 era mud hut adobe home. She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
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