Do the glass doors detach easily?

Yes, most doors can be removed without tools. Open the door until it sits flat on its internal runners. If you tilt the front edge upwards slightly, the rear pivot pins should lift clear of the tracks. This makes cleaning the glass much safer. It also reduces weight when moving the sections.

My floor is quite uneven and I am worried that stacking these units up to the ceiling will make the whole structure unstable.

The modular design naturally absorbs minor floor variations better than a rigid cabinet. Each tier settles under the weight of the books it holds. If the lean is severe, you can pack under the base plinth to level the bottom section. Once the base is plumb, the tiers above will stack neatly. Heavy books should always go in the bottom tiers. This keeps the centre of gravity low.

What sizes do the sections come in?

Makers offered tiers in different heights to suit specific book formats. A standard domestic setup usually has an eleven-inch tier for novels and a thirteen-inch tier below it. Folio sections are much taller and often sit deeper front-to-back. These belong at the bottom of the stack right above the plinth.

I have found three sections in a local shop but they do not have a top or a bottom piece, can they be used anyway?

You can use them, but they will sit flat on the floor and gather dust. The bottom tier will also lack the visual grounding a plinth provides. The top section will have an exposed interlocking groove. This gathers dirt and looks unfinished without the proper moulded cornice to cap it off. Spare tops and bases turn up occasionally. Dealers sometimes split complete stacks to sell parts to people in exactly your situation.

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Antique Stacking Bookcases Dated 1900 - 1920

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Designed as a series of interlocking, glass-fronted boxes that sit on top of one another, antique stacking bookcases were built to expand alongside a growing library and protect volumes from dust in smoky late Victorian and Edwardian cities.