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 flame mahogany 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 polished in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 87 x Width 50 x Depth 50
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.
Flame Mahogany
Thomas Sheraton – 18th century furniture designer, once characterized mahogany as “best suited to furniture where strength is demanded as well as a wood that works up easily, has a beautiful figure and polishes so well that it is an ornament to any room in which it may be placed.” Matching his words to his work, Sheraton designed much mahogany furniture. The qualities that impressed Sheraton are particularly evident in a distinctive pattern of wood called “flame mahogany.”
The flame figure in the wood is revealed by slicing through the face of the branch at the point where it joins another element of the tree.
Our reference: A3286