Bay colony antiques is proud to offer for sale this fantastic early 20th century antique arts and crafts oak file cabinet by the Shaw Walker company of Muskegon Michigan. The company was founded during the final years of the 19th century with a partnership between Mr. Arch W Shaw & Mr. L.C Walker. Similar to the Amberg company, Shaw Walker began as a stationery company with a patented filing system for organizing office papers. The company eventually purchased the Muskegon Cabinet company and produced a wide array of office furniture such as this letter sized Oak filing cabinet offered for sale here.
We always try to keep about half a dozen choice antique file cabinets in stock as they’re really convenient in professional settings & home offices. We usually find a home for them rather quickly and have had some trouble keeping file cabinets in stock in recent months. A couple of weeks ago we had a few in stock which was a bit unusual as of late, but we were happy to have a number of great options for our clients to choose from. Funny enough, after about a month or two with no real interest, they all sold within a couple days of each other.
When grading Antique file cabinets, we always start with how they are constructed. Examples with paneled sides and paneled backs will always command a premium over the ones with plywood sides. This filing cabinet has four paneled sides and a flat back. After looking at the construction, we like to take a look at the grade of the wood itself. This file was constructed with vibrant grain Tiger Oak with large rays and flecks present in the grain. Condition is also important, this cabinet retains its original Shaw Walker decal and original factory finish which overall is in very good condition with our only notes being minor surface wear and some light paint transfer marks. This finish is over 100 years old and has developed a desirable alligatoring or craqueleur effect on the cabinets proper left side. The cabinet retains the majority of its original brass hardware with the only exception being the brass file rods are missing. It’s not uncommon to see these removed as the filing system with folders that have a hole that the rod goes through became obsolete many years ago. To achieve the best use of antique file cabinets like this one, we recommend using hanging file folder frames which are readily available for purchase online. This is a letter sized file cabinet with the useable dimensions inside of the drawers being 12” wide x 25 1/4” deep x 10 1/2” tall. The overall dimensions of the cabinet are 17 1/4” wide x 27 1/2” deep x 52” tall.
