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19th C Antique Salem Ma Mahogany Maritime Campaign Bookcase / Cabinet ~ Nautical

19th C Antique Salem Ma Mahogany Maritime Campaign Bookcase / Cabinet ~ Nautical

Regular price $3,250.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $3,250.00 USD
Sale Sold out

 

Bay Colony Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this exceptional early 19th century antique Federal period mahogany bookcase. Furniture built for sea faring vessels does fall into the campaign furniture category but since ship cabins were so cramped more emphasis was put into the depth and width of the piece rather than its ease of transport. The cabinet has a beautiful crotched Mahogany panel below the crown and a 9 pane glass door. We’ve handled hundreds of secretary desks from Salem with very similar door construction, but this could have just as well have been built in Boston. Ship building was a big business in coastal New England cities. The colonies had massive amounts of untapped timber reserves which made it much cheaper to make boats in New England opposed to in Europe. There were over 200 shipyards in the US at the turn of the 19h century but none as successful as the coastal Massachusetts communities. The cabinet was built CA 1800/1810 and is in fantastic condition. The base is a later addition but it compliments the piece nicely and you get the added functionality of a base drawer. There is some light pencil script on the back but it was too faint for us to read it. We are constantly being asked for narrow & shallow bookcases like this but there really weren’t many made in period. The bookcase measures 28 1/2” wide at the crown (25” at base) x 14 3/4” deep at crown (13” at base) x 74” tall. The interior has 4 shelves and has useable dimensions of 20 1/2” wide x 10” deep.

 

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