A Rosewood Bookcase Cabinet

A Rosewood Bookcase Cabinet: from Marchand Antiques

This piece is a bookcase cabinet constructed by Robert Heritage and Archie Shine for Heals of London circa 1959. It is entirely crafted from Rosewood and features five cupboard sections with removable shelves in the top tier, a large cupboard in the middle tier as well as four small draws and a cocktail cabinet, and finally on the lower tier are two large drawers and a smaller one.

This piece is highly utilitarian, the five cupboard sections could be used for any desired purpose but ultimately provide ample space for any storage type role and the large cupboard located in the middle portion of the bookcase cabinet can easily accommodate a flat-screen TV for example or anything with similar dimensions (for this specific application the sliding door is very useful as it offers protection for the contents of the cupboard in the middle tier). Of course this piece has more to offer, right of the cupboard in the middle tier are four small drawers which again can be used for any storage type role; right of these drawers one will find a fall front cocktail cabinet featuring a mirrored rear face and glass shelf. Continuing with this idea of utility, on the lower tier we find two large drawers capable of housing shoes, clothing, a cigar box perhaps, or whatever else its owner deems fit. Finally, on the right of these we find a final smaller drawer. This vast amount of storage space makes this piece a practical addition to any home, perhaps most well suited to a living room for the reasons previously outlined. 

Onto the more aesthetic side of this piece, the first thing to mention is the wood from which it was crafted, that being rosewood.  Rosewood is a hardwood commonly used in furniture, musical instruments, mathematical tools and various other applications; this is due to the fact that it offers not only rugged durability and relatively good shock resistance (making it ideal as a wood to use for practical a purpose as it doesn't wear easily) but also bears a truly stunning natural grain which we can see tastefully adorning the forward face of the bookcase cabinet. The dark brown tone of the wood, coupled with the cocktail cabinet and the wood’s grain provide a lavish rustic looking quality to an otherwise totally utilitarian piece and give it a more vibrant characteristic.
 


This piece is offered at £2,650.00, a great price for such a practical and beautiful piece and it doesn't go without saying that though it may have been designed half a century ago it wouldn't feel out of place and would in fact make a perfect addition to any modern home.   

For more pieces from Marchand Antiques, click here:
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Specialist Article by Stuart Shuster - "What Makes An Antique Attractive to a Customer?"

What Makes An Antique Attractive to a Customer?

Guest Editor - Stuart Shuster, from Church Street Antiques

Stuart has owned and run Church Street Antiques, in Marylebone's famous antiques district in London for over 30 years, and specialises in Edwardian, Victorian, English, French, 17th - 20th century furniture. As a man in the antiques business for such a long period, Stuart has expertise of this business which exceeds his years, and thus his business has flourished. He has supplied items for the world's interior designers, celebrities and businessmen, and he knows how to sell his items. He's given us this article describing his approach to his stock selection, and what he thinks is important in a piece. He's very straight-forward in discussion, and he clearly knows his stuff - have a read on to hear the man himself. 

The interesting thing about the antique business is that there are many different articles being sold at many different levels. Taking the furniture angle alone, there are many different levels at which it is being sold. In the future I will be giving you advice on different ways of finding, checking out & buying antique furniture, without having to over pay or get ripped off.

The kind of antique furniture I sell is basically affordable & functional. I'm not too bothered about datelines. The item doesn't have to be over 100 years old to be a good piece of furniture. For instance, some Victorian furniture can be very poorly made, whilst some 1950's pieces can be of amazing quality. You can buy a cheap quality inlaid mahogany Edwardian bureau bookcase for £750 or pay £1500 for a top quality 1950's example, which would be the one I would always buy.

The value of both items might go up at a similar percentage, but the 50's bureau bookcase has got to be the better investment. To be honest, most items that I sell are at the common sense buying, price level. Just compare what you would have to pay for the modern day equivalent in the stores today. Not only would you pay more for the new equivalent, but it would be far inferior in quality, with a massive loss in value as soon as you purchase it. More importantly, it won't look as good, with no character & it certainly will not last as long.

Most of the new furniture, being sold these days, is spray polished. That normally means that when scratched, the polish can just peal off & is difficult to polish over. I don't really want to get too technical right now, because I'd like to save that for another article in the future, regarding restoration & polishing. What I am really trying to say is, it's far better to buy the older piece of furniture, providing it's well made, than the new equivalent.

The only cheap reproduction furniture available these days, is the nasty overseas spray polished imports from  Far East countries. The main problem with these items is, besides being absolutely worthless as soon as they are purchased, the wood is never seasoned, so it starts splitting & warping in different room temperatures. Did you know that once the wood is cut from the tree, it needs to be left to dry out for many years, or be kiln dried; otherwise it will split & warp.

The main point I am trying to make is, wherever possible, if you have the choice, steer away from new reproduction furniture, in favor of older equivalents. As long as they are over 40 years, the quality, character & resale value will be much better.

For Stuart's site, if you're searching for gorgeous Victorian furniture, especially large mahogany, oak, Burr walnut, leather pieces, Stuart has extensive and constantly-changing stock. Click here for his site:
http://www.churchstreetantiques.net/

For Stuart's Interior Boutiques page, for a selection of his items and to see his Boutique Shop, click here:

http://interiorboutiques.com/en/church-street-antiques

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