Do shelves come out easily?

Most antique open bookcases feature adjustable shelving that lifts straight off the supporting pegs. Occasionally you find fixed shelves glued into routed grooves on very basic provincial pieces.

I need to fit a low bookcase into an alcove next to my fireplace but the skirting boards are quite high and thick, can the back be altered?

You can modify the back edge, but removing original timber alters the piece permanently. Many Georgian townhouses had deep skirting boards, so you might find an antique low bookcase that already has a rebated back corner. A better approach involves packing out the space behind the upper section. This allows the unit to sit flush against the skirting board without cutting into the original plinth base.

How heavy are these bookcases?

A solid mahogany low bookcase carries significant weight even before you add any volumes. You should expect a standard three-foot wide example to require two people to lift it safely. Pieces with solid timber backs and thick shelves weigh considerably more than later versions with plywood backings.

The shelves on the bookcase I am looking at have a strip of leather with gold tooling running along the front edge, was that always there?

Leather dust-falls were a common contemporary addition. They protected the top edges of the books below from settling dust and harsh sunlight. Many have been replaced over the decades as the original leather dries out and snaps off. Finding an intact set of original nineteenth-century dust-falls is quite rare.

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Antique Low Bookcases

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Antique low bookcases sit below dado or window height, originally built to keep everyday reference volumes and folios within arm's reach while leaving the upper walls clear for paintings or mirrors.