Tall antique printer's chest with 34 tray drawers

Tall antique printer's chest with 34 tray drawers

Chests of drawers

£1066

Delivery to London and Southeast for £80

Description

Very tall antique wooden printer's chest of drawers made in the 1920s probably. Similar to Hamilton style ones, apparently: these are by Caslon. It has 34 shallow tray-like drawers which were used to store typesetting letters in a print shop: around 20 still have the various little compartments left in them; the rest are mostly empty. They could all be taken out , to make the drawers more useful for plans, maps , artwork etc, or they'd make great collector's drawers. The frame is solid hardwood, of some type, with veneered panels, and can be completely dismantled. The drawers vary as some are replacements from other cabinets, though they all fit well. Some are probably mahogany, with label holders and a cast iron 'Caslon' handle; others are maybe beech, with brass handles. One has a different handle. In all, there are 4 types of drawer, and every drawer seems to have a different colour, or wear pattern, or old label, so it's quite a wonderful thing to behold (I think!) Condition is pretty good structurally: it's solid and sound; slight flex in the structure but fine on level ground. One back board replaced and one drawer bottom: there has been woodworm in the past in many of the drawer bases, especially the plywood ones; only one was bad enough to need replacing and they've been treated for good measure. Cosmetically there are obviously many marks, scuffs and dings of a long working life (see pics), one drawer has a chipped end, one has been cut to fit, one or two are bowed. We've waxed all the outsides but the insides range from pretty clean to fairly grimy. Have a look at the photos; I've pictured all of the drawers (though i got confused so it looks like there's 36 :D). As you can probably tell, I love this piece..still, gotta make a living.. Dimensions: 95cm x 41cm x 195 high (drawer interiors 77cm x 33cm x 3.5cm ish)