2.8 X 3.9 Meter Antique Samuel Pepys 1666 Style Library Bookcase Part of Suite

Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this highly collectable, restored, Victorian circa 1860-1880, Pine and oak huge Library Bookcase based on the original design by Samuel Pepys 1666 which is part of a huge suite

Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote, please send me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price.

Where to start! This bookcase is part of a large suite as mentioned, in total the suite measures exactly 10 meters wide, it is a very very substantial suite and won't be found again, this sale is for the piece listed above alone with the other three bookcases each being listed under my other items, I have in total a massive four bay quad bookcase which is glazed top and bottom, a very large two bay bookcase again glazed top and bottom, a matching size two bay bookcase but with a cupboard base which houses a campaign bank of drawers, and lastly a smaller two bay one piece bookcase with cupboard base

This style of bookcase was designed by Samuel Pepys in 1666 its basically the birthplace of the free-standing bookcase as we know it today, in 2016 they celebrated their 350th anniversary, these are mid 19th century examples hand made by a master craftsman, every single piece of wood has been hand cut, it is exquisite craftmanship that you rarely see in period pine and oak

I will include below the history of the pieces in their original form, these bookcases are historically important, the originals are in the Samuel Pepys Library in the Magdalene College of Oxford university, there is one in the Victorian and Albert Museum.

This piece has been restored to include a deep clean, hand condition wax and hand polish, there will be age and use related patina marks as you would expect from a piece this age, the shelves and glass all look to be original, I will have new keys made prior to dispatch which should work with all the locks

This bookcase has a custom made extension fitted to the back, this would have been so it could clear a radiator and skirting, this can be removed should the new owner wish

Please note, due to the massive size of this piece it will have to be transported in sections and there will be some construction required upon arrival, if you would like the courier to quote for this work please ask prior to bidding as depending on where you are will depend if it is or isn't possible

Purchasing a piece this size is a real investment, there is time work and cost involved but once that's completed, the new owner with be the steward of a very substantial and important antique that could easily house multiple personal library's

Dimensions

Height:- 284.5cm

Width:- 387cm at the very top, 369.5cm at the base

Depth:- 70.5cm including the back extension which can be removed, 62cm at the top without the back extension, 52cm in the middle, 50cm at the very bottom

Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask

Samuel Pepy

350th Anniversary year 2016 marks the 350th Anniversary of the Great Fire of London, which Pepys so famously recorded in his diary.

This year also marks the 350th birthday of Pepys’ first two bookcases, or ‘presses’ as he called them.

Pepys noted in July 1666 that he had lost the use of his books due to their being stacked up on chairs. Instead of emulating a library in an aristocratic house by fitting shelving to the walls in his modest lodgings on Seething Lane, Pepys decided upon a flexible (and affordable) approach to the storage of his books. He commissioned a ship’s Master Joiner, Thomas Simpson, to help create a radical new design. The freestanding ‘flat pack’ oak book presses, which can be dismantled and moved