Object Description
This an exquisite antique revolving bookcase, attributed to the renowned Victorian retailer and manufacturer Maple & Co., circa 1900 in date.
It is made of solid walnut and revolves on a solid cast iron base, the best quality revolving bookcases had cast iron bases, as this meant that they would be sturdy and not tip when full of books, whereas the lesser versions had simple wooden bases.
The quality and attention to detail throughout is second to none.
Condition:
In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned and wax polished in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 86 cm x Width 50 cm x Depth 50 cm
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 foot, 10 inches x Width 1 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 8 inches
Maple & Co
the renowned furniture retailer of London, Paris and Buenos Aires, were famous for top quality furniture.
They were by Royal Appointment and became one of the leading furniture manufacturers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. They used only the finest quality timber which was imported directly from all over the world.
Maple and Company were founded in 1841 in Tottenham Court Road, London and had premises there until 1997. By the 1880s they were the largest and most successful furniture makers in the world, their huge emporium having become a tourist attraction in its own right. In addition to their middle class clientele, they furnished Embassies, hotels, beautiful homes and palaces all over the globe, including Tsar Nicholas’s Winter Palace, the Hoffburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, and many of Britain’s country houses.
Walnut & Burr Walnut
Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.
Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.
Walnut “burrs” were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.
Our reference: A4686