May 27, 2012
Tanker; rhymes with . . .?
To be honest every time I see a tanker desk I think how good a mooring point they’d make, but this one isn’t too heavy. In fact it is light enough that one scrawny used stuff slinger can move it (with a hand truck) across level ground without additional help.
Moving up or down stairs could be another matter.
The desk measures 50 inches wide 24 inches deep and 29 inches tall. Although there is one small crinkle in the front right corner of the left side drawer stack it is in good shape overall. The drawers and slide out writing shelf all work well too.
Although the paint is in fine shape as is it’s rather drab by modern standards. Maybe post-atomic apocalypse bunker is your decorating scheme (that’s OK) but if not this would be a great candidate for repainting .
Think candle apple red, mandarin orange or blue lagoon. Yowza!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $151-$200, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Metal, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Modern, Storage, Tables, Vintage |
Leave a Comment »
May 24, 2012
This is a great piece. It’s especially interesting as it provides a diametric counterpart to our last Scandinavian modern styled bar cart and shows how good design can accomplish the same goals but end up in radically different places in the process.
At first glance this is just an unassuming, squarish wheeled stand. However it is finished in fine rosewood veneer with a black colored laminate top. Then, the front door opens and tucks back inside so you can access the revolving mufti-tiered carousel / lazy Susan. It is a compact yet elegant solution to a storage problem.
The cart is about 17 inches deep, just over 17 1/2 inches wide and stands 30 1/2 inches tall. It is in fabulous condition and there is a manufacturers label on the base that I didn’t decipher except to read that this item was made in Denmark.
$225
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $201-$250, 20th century, Artistic wonder, AVAILABLE!, Glassware / barware, Kitchenware, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Otherwise useful, Sculpture, Storage, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 20, 2012
Arts & Crafts style rotating book case. Great display piece for a store or a good way to squeeze a lot of books into a small space (just don’t over water the plant on the top shelf!).
The book case is roughly 20 inches square and stands 35 inches tall.
It is in great condition and was probably made in the 1970′s.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $101-$150, 20th century, Arts & Crafts, AVAILABLE!, Book(s) & bookends, Mission, Storage, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 18, 2012
It doesn’t have a lot of depth, but don’t call it shallow. Think low-profile, chill or incognito instead.
This vintage / antique piece is about 30 inches wide, all of one foot deep and 41 1/2 inches tall. It is in good condition too.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $101-$150, 19th century, 20th century, Antique, GONE! SOLD!, Mission, Shabby Chic, Storage, Tables, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 17, 2012
This cabinet is a good functional cross between table and a display cabinet. The inside has two glass shelves which are lit from above, so you can show off ‘precious things’ while the top is still low enough that it can be used as a table stand for something else. As an added bonus it has two shallow lined drawers. It is in very good condition and measures 30 1/2 inches wide, 18 1/2 inches deep and 41 inches tall.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $151-$200, 21st century, AVAILABLE!, Display, Glass, Storage, Tables, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 13, 2012
Is this more fun than a barrel of monkeys? I don’t know because we’re fresh out of monkeys but it is a neat piece none the less. Some one took an old barrel and made a custom one of a kind bar out of it. The barrel bar features a built-in ice bucket accessible through a trap door in the top, lined receptacles for glasses and bottle, casters so you can move it around, and a hasp on the doors so you can lock it to keep honest people out.
It stands just under 32 inches tall and is about 24 inches in maximum diameter.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $101-$150, 20th century, Eclectic, Glassware / barware, GONE! SOLD!, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Storage, Tables, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 11, 2012
Linear geometry, robust construction, limited ornamentation and the use of natural woods and rustic finishes are some of the hall marks of Arts & Crafts period furniture.
For instance this sideboard. It is a medium-sized piece, spanning 44 inches wide, 20 inches deep and 38 inches tall to the top of the 3 1/4 inch back splash. It is in good condition and as you can see in the pictures there are two storage compartments on the far sides, two small central drawers and one large, full-width drawer below.
That particular piece was a commercial production item, possibly British, so they did take a few short-cuts. The top for instance is oak veneer over a cheaper substrate and the door panels are similarly made. As a result it is actually pretty light for its size, which you may appreciate if you need to carry it up stairs.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $251-$300, 20th century, Arts & Crafts, AVAILABLE!, Mission, Storage, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 5, 2012
The [blasted] lights in the little room make everything look like it’s eaten far too many carrots, or squandered the rent check on a barrel of spray tan. In other words, things aren’t as orange as they seem.
Vintage serpentine front dresser made of oak; It has two full width drawers with two half width drawers above. The top, mirror frame and mirror harp are solid oak, the figurative serpentine drawer fronts are veneered. The dresser is in great condition although it was probably refinished at some point.
It measures 38 inches wide, 20 1/2 inches deep and 66 1/2 inches tall to the top of the mirror.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $251-$300, 19th century, 20th century, Antique, AVAILABLE!, Mirrors, Storage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 3, 2012
This antique secretary desk with storage drawers is an unusual find. It was made by the Grand Rapids Furniture Company (of Grand Rapids of course).
The fun question is which Grand Rapids Furniture Company?
Historically there are at least three companies with the name operating from 1877 to 1890, 1897 to 1906 and 1905 to about 1950. I’ve no way of telling, with the limited references at hand which one this was made by but my guess, based on the Art Nouveau inspired scroll work and the use of solid oak is that this dates to about 1900, plus or minus a few years of course.
Anyway it’s a great piece with an upper compartment containing a variety of pigeon holes and an ‘aftermarket’ added drawer within one of them. The door to this cabinet acts as a fold down writing shelf and can be secured by a lock, which came locked, but for which we didn’t get a key. Luckily we found one among our stash of ‘things that aren’t currently useful but might be someday’. Contrary to the often held belief that someday never comes, in fact someday did come, it was several days ago and not unexpectedly, the lottery tickets we didn’t buy didn’t win.
Below this cabinet are two full width drawers, they work well, are in good shape and seem to retain the original drawer pulls. These drawers don’t have locks so you never have to worry about being locked out of them.
This piece stands 53 1/2 inches tall, it is 32 inches wide and 15 inches deep. It is in good condition.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $300-$350, 19th century, 20th century, Antique, Art Nouveau (real or inspired), AVAILABLE!, Storage, Tables, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
May 1, 2012
Like curiously strong mints these tables are small, but potentially powerful. They are only 21 1/2 inches tall, 8 inches deep and about 13 inches wide. The shelves are pierced metal plates and they are in good condition.
I can imagine places they might be useful, like at either end of the sofa you bought without measuring to see if it would fit in the room with the rest of the furniture you already own (It’s OK I’ve been there too).
You could use it for storing the spare rolls of T.P. in the bathroom of the attic that your landlord jokingly called a cozy studio apartment. The very same apartment that you were desperate enough to take before realizing that you had to shower while sitting on a milk-crate (It’s OK I’ve been there too). Looking in the bright side, at least your jokes about ‘low overhead’ were no longer just metaphorical.
Of for one of a hundred other places where big things don’t fit but a little table with a shelf would be useful.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $31-$40, 20th century, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Otherwise useful, Storage, Tables, Vintage |
2 Comments »
April 28, 2012
For some reason I have a hard time conflating those two styles in my mind, but that seems the best way of describing this piece. It even makes a certain amount of sense; just because folks were broke in the 1930′s didn’t mean they didn’t want stuff in the popular style of the Art Deco era.
So they made things like this cabinet and bookshelf combination.
I’m not sure if it was home-built or factory-built on the cheap. They did a decent job either way and used good materials (unlike certain modern flat-pack retailers).
It is 42 inches wide, 12 inches deep and stands 36 inches tall. The cabinet and drawer pulls are wood and there is about 10 inches between the shelves, so you could put ‘real’ books in there, not just mass market paperbacks.
Posted in $51-$75, 20th century, Art Deco, Display, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Storage, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 27, 2012
This is in great shape much like that early 1970′s Chevy my grandmother only drove to church on Sundays and to visit the grand kids in the suburbs.
And maybe to the odd Saturday night drag race, but not so much that there was undo wear and tear.
But this is about the buffet: It is 66 inches wide, 21 3/4 inches deep and the top of the back splash is 40 3/4 inches tall. It is in great condition.
There are several nice features including two shallow half width storage drawers and three cabinets below that. Best of all there is a full width linens drawer which is a feature I’m especially fond of. I admit though that the closest I’ll probably ever come to needing a linens drawer is when I need a place to store that new blue tarp I got on sale.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $251-$300, 20th century, GONE! SOLD!, Storage, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 25, 2012
Then maybe a vintage vanity is just what you need. Aside from my general loathing of the species* I think this is a pretty nice one that needs a good home.
So here it is.
It probably dates to the 1920′s and it is in good condition considering the usual state of vanities. They tend to show more wear than we see here due to accidental spills of perfumes, ointments and other concoctions that act act solvents and burns from mislaid cigarettes.
Personally I wonder how often in the past these two independently mildly annoying phenomena combined into a disastrous conflagration. Oddly enough the vanity that grandma lit on fire when her Chesterfield upset the bottle of Samurai perfume that she bought in New York at Lazell’s in 1922 tend not to be handed down as treasured heirlooms . . .
The vanity is 48 inches wide, 20 inches deep and 71 inches to the top of the mirror. There are a few flaws, notable some small rings that could possibly be covered with a scratch-cover product and two spots where the mirror is starting to lose its silver. Luckily they are both on the edges of the mirror (on the left side, one high and one low) so you won’t need to do your mascara around them.
*I feel I have to explain myself. Vanities are one of those things that everyone once had but few people really want now. It’s frustrating, as a fundraiser and retailer, to see great stuff that no one wants while people go buy [expletive] that will fall apart the next time they move (in the apartment, not even to a new place) for three times the price at a big box store.
Posted in Vintage, GONE! SOLD!, $101-$150, 20th century, Otherwise useful, Mirrors, Tables, Storage, Wood |
3 Comments »
April 24, 2012
Short on kitchen space AND square footage? A small but useful vintage cabinet could be the answer. This one holds a surprising amount of stuff and there is a hidden compartment too, which is always handy.
The lower part is accessed by two doors, there is a small interior shelf and the inside of the doors are lined with pegboard so you can hang items off them. Above are four tilt-out metal bins for storing flour, sugar and other bulk items. Since these aren’t full depth the top slides forward* and you can access the ‘hidden’ breadbox compartment in the back.
Overall the cabinet is in fair to good condition. One of the doors was bent at some point and re-worked to almost as good as new. Most notably it could use a good sanding or bead blasting and a new coat of paint. The Formica top is in good shape and all the door/drawer pulls are still present.
The cabinet is 36 inches tall, 23 3/4 inches wide and 17 3/4 inches deep.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
*if you don’t want to tilt the bins out the top also slides backwards and you can get to the contents from above.
Posted in $51-$75, 20th century, Art Deco, Farmhouse/Country, Furniture, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, Metal, Otherwise useful, Rustic, Shabby Chic, Storage, Tables, Vintage |
Leave a Comment »
April 22, 2012
This is quite a nice small trunk. It is 24 3/4 inches wide by 15 3/4 inches deep and 19 inches tall. There are cedar planks on both the trunk bottom and at the base of the removable tray to discourage insects.
The top is rounded to limit stacking of other trunks on top of it in crowded baggage cars and there are leather strap handles on the ends. There is a lock but we only have half the key. Luckily it is the end that goes into the lock, so it could be used to guide you in finding a replacement.
This trunk is a great size for both practical and impractical uses. For example, if this were 1812 it’d be a good size for storing a few valuables in the Troika as you flee Moscow in front of the invading French horde (i.e., a hoard away from the horde).
Or it could be used for more prosaic and contemporary purposes, like a convenient place for knitting supplies or for keeping a treasured blanket.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in GONE! SOLD!, $101-$150, 20th century, Otherwise useful, Storage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 18, 2012
This is another decent little old game table. It’s a bit different than the last one we had in that it has two harp style legs with stretcher rather than a pedestal style base. It is also a bit newer and not in quite as pristine condition (still good but not quite awesome).
Don;t get me wrong, it’s still pretty nice.
When in the closed configuration the top is 36 inches wide and 19 inches deep. Like this the table stands just over 31 inches tall. When fully open it is 38 inches by 36 inches and stands about 30 1/2 inches tall.
Like any good game table there is a little compartment under the table top for the storage of gaming devices.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $201-$250, 20th century, Empire, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Storage, Tables, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 14, 2012
“To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight, appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers, but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers. ” Adam Smith* Wealth Of Nations – 1776
The modern corollary of course is that a nation whose government is influenced by pharmaceutical conglomerates will raise a people of disease and addiction and hypochondria. A nation whose government is influenced by petro-barons, or weapons makers or the makers of Franken-foods will strive to raise a people to meet their needs as well.
But what if the government was influenced by librarians?
We’d raise a nation of overly ordered people, partial to cataloging, hierarchies, rules and cross referenced indices. Whatever the other faults** of this sort of system at least the furniture would be decent.
The chairs would be comfortable to read in, the study carousels would have built-in pillows for emergency naps and the tables, like this table, would be roomy enough to work on.
This table is 54 inches wide, 30 inches deep and 30 inches tall. This is plenty big enough to spread a map or two out on or to pile a pile of reference books.
If books aren’t your thing this table would work well for fabric or craft projects or could be a dining table under the right circumstances. It has two drawers and is labeled “Abbess.” Abbess was a distribution and manufacturing company for office and institutional furniture (and locks) from at least the early 1950′s until the late 1960′s.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
*Derived, at least in part from Josiah Tucker, the Dean of Gloucester “And what is true of a shopkeeper is true of a shopkeeping nation.” 1766
**I’m a student of chaos and a fond follower of disorder so this I would find this a Cartesian nightmare landscape.
Posted in $201-$250, 20th century, GONE! SOLD!, Modern, Storage, Tables, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 13, 2012
This fine old piece is in great condition. It shows a few signs of age but after well over a hundred years that shouldn’t be a surprise but mostly it is just a couple minor defects. For instance the fancy cut scroll-work trim has a couple small pieces missing and the bookcase door frame looks like it might have been a replacement. But there are no major defects, which I find rather surprising.
This secretary and bookcase is 13 inches deep, about 70 inches tall and 39 inches wide.
On an interesting note there is a stamp on the back which reads J. M. Flynn Vancouver, Wash.
Flynn had a furniture and second hand business located in Vancouver during the first decade of the 20th century. Flynn may also have had a trade in illicitly obtained goods. For example he is mentioned in an article titled Coast Events Briefly Told in the March 30, 1907 Sausalito News (California).
Tacoma, Wash.—For the offense of buying an army blanket from a soldier of the Fourteenth Infantry, stationed at Vancouver Barracks, J. M. Flynn was fined $1000 and costs by Judge Hanford in the Federal court. Flynn Is engaged in the furniture and secondhand business In Vancouver. The punishment imposed on him carried with it the alternative pronounced by Judge Hanford that he be confined In Jail until the fine and costs were paid. Flynn paid, his total contribution to the United States treasury being upward of $1100. The sentence was the minimum provided for the offense, the court being lenient on account of Flynn pleading guilty.
If he did have trade in illicitly obtained goods it seems he needed more practice in getting them.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $300-$350, 19th century, Antique, Art Nouveau (real or inspired), AVAILABLE!, Display, Otherwise useful, Storage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 9, 2012
This is a nice classically styled game table from the late 19th Century.
It’s in good condition but has a few minor scuffs, one veneer patch (in the center of the front side) and a faint water mark on on leaf when the top is fully open.
When not in use for gaming the table top folds to a half-sized closed configuration. When like this the table top shows four panels of book matched figurative veneer. For use the top is turned 90 degrees (coincidentally giving access to a built in storage compartment below) and the top is opened to the full size. This side does not have the figurative veneer but if does show nice clear-grained mahogany.
Dimensions: Fully open it is33 3/4 inches by 32 inches and stand 28 inches tall. When the top is in the half-size orientation this piece is 33 3/4 inches by 16 1/2 inches and stands just under 29 inches tall.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $201-$250, 19th century, Antique, Empire, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Storage, Tables, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 8, 2012
This flat panel hall tree rack is 33 inches wide, just under 78 inches tall and 11 inches deep. There is a spot to stash your umbrella, a dowel-rod shelf for your hat and six double headed brass hooks.
As it was originally designed it would lean against the wall and could be additionally secured by a length of string (much like one would hang a picture). This system hasn’t bee improved upon since but it might be a good idea to at least replace the string or think of another way of securing it in case of an earthquake.
All bets are off for when the ‘big-one’ hits, but how foolish would you feel if we had a piddling little 2 point something quake and you got squashed by a hall tree?
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in Vintage, GONE! SOLD!, $101-$150, 20th century, Otherwise useful, Storage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
April 7, 2012
It is 46 inches wide, 76 inches tall and 17 1/2 inches deep. This wardrobe is a two-piece unit, with the large upper cabinet section sitting on a low four-legged base. As such you could use it without the base if you had a peculiar sized space that this needed to be squeezed into.
The outside has low relief decorative carvings. Inside there is a shelf, two short clothes hanging bars (they run from front to back) which have attached hooks and a row of hooks across the back. The door has a mirror.
It is in good condition.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $300-$350, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Storage, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
March 24, 2012
Although he was rarely photographed with furniture* I can imagine this is the sort of thing that was in John Wilkes Booth’s dressing room at the Arch Street Theater in Philadelphia in the run up to the American Civil War.
At the time Philadelphia was the premier American theater town and later the Arch would become the home of the great Barrymore acting dynasty. However in the late 1850′s it was the scene of great disappointment for Booth. At the Arch Street he was employed in his first professional gig as a member of a theater company but he was a relatively young actor, lacked confidence and didn’t have the natural skills (or work ethic) of his older brothers and late father.
As a result he didn’t gain the fame he desperately wanted (and an identity separate from just being the youngest son of his famous father) and some even said he’d never amount to much of an actor. Within the next year he retreated to Richmond, Virginia. Due to the change of pace, his better fit with southern society and growing experience Booth’s career would blossom in Richmond as would his hatred of the North.
Although this table likely dates to a few decades after the end of the American Civil War it’d make a good piece for a small space. The top is approximately 17 inches square so it doesn’t take up much floor area in a crowded and shared dressing room. Each leaf is about 9 inches wide. There are two drawers with locks (but no keys). The lower drawer has no interior divisions and would be good for holding paper or a small actor’s makeup kit. The upper drawer is divided; perfect for holding one’s pens, make-up brushes, fake mustaches and lead balls for a derringer.
In other words it’s a good dressing table for your starring role in The Marble Heart** or as a writing surface for poison screeds. In a pinch you could use it as an ‘intimate’ dining table for two.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
*Booth was rarely pictured with furniture. In one famous picture of him he is seated in a Gothic Revival chair which was probably the property of the photographer.
**Booth starred in The Marble Heart by Charles Selby at Ford’s Theather in November 1863. This performance was watched by Lincoln from the same seat he would later be killed in.
Posted in Antique, GONE! SOLD!, $101-$150, 19th century, Tables, Storage, Wood, Empire |
Leave a Comment »
March 23, 2012
What’s better than solid oak?
Solid oak and good design! Fake oak and bad design is a curse (see also 1980′s furniture) but the real thing will withstand the test of time and be useful for generations.
Like this Art & Crafts period library table desk. It is 42 1/4 inches wide, 24 1/2 inches deep and 29 3/4 inches tall. It’s in good condition, has two spacious storage shelves and a wide drawer.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $251-$300, 20th century, Arts & Crafts, AVAILABLE!, Furniture, Mission, Storage, Tables, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
March 22, 2012
This vintage homemade or high school shop project sewing stand is in good condition. We’re offering it with its contents including lots of bias edging. There is a removable interior tray and a storage compartment underneath.
Overall it is in good condition and measures about 25 inches tall, 16 inches wide and 16 inches deep.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $31-$40, 20th century, Crafter's delight, Farmhouse/Country, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Rustic, Shabby Chic, Storage, Tools, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
March 16, 2012
A plaything is a tool and the outcome is largely dependent upon the input of the parent. It’s impossible to really control what your kid will actually turn out like, but you can influence the potential outcome.
Start now by proscribing your child’s future by instilling ‘traditional values’, or begin creating the world’s next greatest prodigy chef with this child’s size play kitchen unit thing-a-ma-bob.
It features four faux burners, a work top, two drawers and two cabinets (one large and one small) accessed by three drawers.
It is 36 inches wide, 40 inches tall and 18 1/2 inches deep.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Posted in $51-$75, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Eclectic, Farmhouse/Country, Furniture, Kitchenware, Mid-Century Modern, Shabby Chic, Storage, Tables, Toy!, Vintage, Wood |
Leave a Comment »
