Discovery (long)
Gary Smyth
Furniture appraisers and builders help. I went out searching for the first time in several weeks. Colder n a well diggers butt. Cleaned off the frost, unfroze the rain soaked door lock, and hoped the car would start. Looking for small stuff for Christmas. Near the top of my list were some wood or brass finials for a cabinet. Ebay has these at stupid price, especially for carved older examples, thought I might get lucky. I think I did!
Found this little two piece cabinet. It is a mini highboy only 64” high x 27” wide x 13” deep. WHAT IS SUCH A CABINET CALLED? Could it be a silver service cabinet? Child’s highboy? I can’t find anything for comparison. Bought myself a Christmas present. Honestly, for the price of three ebay finials I bought the whole thing. Not sure of the age, but well made in its day. Cabriole legs. Pierced pediment, deeply carved scrollwork on top and seashell into the apron, of the bottom piece. Front corners are carved. All scrollwork and fretwork is intact, no breaks or cracks. Each horizontal drawer space has a different height, and all appears to be Walnut or maybe Mahogany. Drawers are dovetailed with edge beading and drawer bottoms beveled and slip fit. The fretwork openings are not identical and may have been hand cut. There are several slotted screws I have not touched and nails hold drawer beading.
Small stamped brasses with 1 7/8” centers are all present, as are the bails, but three of the posts to anchor them in place are damaged.
All of that is good but there is work to do. One drawer is out of square and was sprung in its cabinet space.
A portion of the upper frame has a warped cross member and may not be able to be changed. If it functions, I’ll leave it as it adds character.
The claw & ball feet have been abused. There is much gunk trapped in the lattice (fretwork) work on the top piece. And after I find a solution for all of that, what of a finish? I like the aged honey brown color now, but touch ups might be in order. I’m looking for traditional woodworking/restorer opinions. #1 is would it be worth sending out for pro work? If so, I’d like to treat this piece as if it were worth something. Suggestions? Places to reroute for answers? Can an out of square ( ¼” approx.) drawer be re-squared by clamp pressure and time alone? Let me know what you think. All responses are welcome. More pics below.
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