An Early 20thC Set of Six Oak Stacking Barrister Bookcases by Globe Wernicke c.1910
SOLD
Origin: Anglo-American
Period: Early 20thC
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1910
As Photographed:
Width: 34”
Height: 45.5”
Depth: 12.5”
The modular quarter sawn oak constructed barristers’ bookcases in six interchangeable sections, two of larger size, and each able to be stacked in any particular configuration, having pull-out glass doors each with original mechanisms and brass knob handles, seated on ogee bases to moulded plinth tops and with strap banding to the sides, the wholes surviving from the early twentieth century.
Each section is in good overall order with no damages to speak of and are entirely original. The backs are also solid and original. As per the photographs three of the sections have taken on a lighter colour to the oak than the other three.
The Globe-Wernicke Company was formed in 1899 as a result of the Cincinnati based "Globe Files Company" (est. in 1882) purchasing the Minneapolis based "Wernicke Company", founded by Otto Wernicke in 1893. Antique Barristers Bookcases or ‘Layers Bookcases’ were first seen in the late Victorian period. They were designed to store books or other office documents and were commonly seen in solicitors offices, libraries or Schools in Britain and their versatility enabled them to be effortlessly constructed in small rooms even if access was poor.
Timeless design, well… ahead of its time.
