What wood are small bookcases usually made from?

Oak and mahogany between them account for the overwhelming majority of titles, 213 and 192 out of 603. Walnut is a distant third at 53, rosewood at 23. Beyond that the timbers thin out fast. Partridge wood, amboyna, kingwood, tulipwood, apple wood and yew each surface once in the whole sample.

How old are most of these?

The dealers' own dating runs from 1800 to 1940, and 295 of 603 listings carry a clean year. The 1920s is the largest bucket at 120, followed by the 1910s and 1930s. Earlier pieces exist but are a small minority. Georgian, Regency and pre-1830 titles are relatively few, and they sit at the top of the range rather than in the middle of it.

Are glazed doors common on small bookcases?

No. Glazed appears in 61 titles out of 603, against 176 for open shelving. Glazed and cabinet-form pieces, including bookcases on cupboard bases and part-glazed doors, together make up somewhere between a tenth and a sixth of the category.

Which forms sit at the top of the range?

Georgian and Regency mahogany and rosewood hold the top almost entirely, in breakfront, secretaire and waterfall forms. The bottom is plain interwar oak shelving. Between them, figure, inlay and carving lift a piece within its own band.

Do revolving bookcases turn up often?

Revolving appears in 37 titles out of 603, both floor-standing and table-top. With book troughs, novel rests and bookstands, this branch is under a tenth of the archive overall, though it makes up a larger share of current stock than of past sales.

Are non-English small bookcases easy to find?

Geography barely intrudes. 'French' appears in 17 titles, and single listings claim Irish, Scottish, Chinese and Anglo-Indian Kashmiri origin. Everything else reads as English. Around 65 small bookcases are listed on Sellingantiques in a year, handled by 144 different dealers, so it's a category general furniture dealers touch rather than a specialist's preserve.

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Antique Small Bookcases

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A small bookcase is a reduced-scale version of the library bookcase, made for bedrooms, private rooms and houses where a full library run would never fit.