This piece is a reproduction of a c.1790 New England hanging bookcase, which I found in an issue of Antiques and Fine Art Magazine. I chose it for its rather odd proportions (i.e. the gooseneck facade is quite tall in relation to the “ideal”) and also to demonstrate my sash making ability.

This piece, like all my work, is made only with period-correct hand tools. No power tools of any kind touch my work from the minute the lumber leaves the sawmill. This, combined with my research into period techniques, aesthetic standards, and intense study of period originals, gives my pieces a truly antique feel. In fact, another piece of mine was recently mistaken for an original after a quick examination by the decorative arts curator of a major East Coast museum.

This piece is cherry with white pine secondary wood. The pine top was grained to more closely resemble the cherry.  The piece will be hung from the wall on dual French cleats, the case side of which are dovetailed into the back. 

I added the inlayed compass rose (not copied from any particular source, just drawn freehand with a compass) to accentuate the vertical proportions of the gooseneck. The return moldings were cut with a c. 1790 Gabriel molding plane and the gooseneck moldings and volutes were hand-carved to match that plane’s profile.

The finish is blonde shellac, dark brown glaze, and dark brown paste wax. 

16″ wide, 25″ tall, 11″ deep. 

Launch Gallery