What wood are Regency bookcases usually made from?

Mahogany and rosewood, overwhelmingly. Mahogany appears in just over half of all titles listed and rosewood in just under a quarter. Painted and simulated-finish pine makes up a small group, around one in twenty, and single examples turn up in Goncalo Alves, burr yew, satinwood, teak and bird's eye maple.

Are open or glazed bookcases more common?

Open, by a wide margin. Door-less shelves appear in 165 titles against 42 for glazed, roughly four to one. Astragal glazing, where slender bars divide the door panes, shows up in 13 titles. Display and vitrine cabinets filed here are fewer still.

What is a waterfall bookcase?

A set of open shelves that step forward and downward in graduated tiers, so the case is deepest and widest at the base. It runs to 94 titles, most in mahogany, and it's the form a buyer is most likely to meet under this heading.

Does Regency mean the piece was made in the Regency?

Not always. Only 79 of 630 listings carry a clean year, and the date field otherwise falls back on the style label, with 'Regency' used 335 times. Where years are given they run from 1800 to 1930. Titles including 'Regency Style' and 'Regency Revival' mark out the later work in the taste, and 1920s, 1910s and 1930s entries all appear.

Which forms sit at the top of the range?

Breakfront library cases. They're about one in ten of the category, and the samples run up to a ten-foot four-door example. Pairs also sit consistently high, with 35 titles offering two at once. Brass inlay, ebony and satinwood stringing, marble tops and ormolu mounts recur in the upper titles.

How often do these come up for sale?

About 67 a year on Sellingantiques, from a pool of 159 different dealers who have listed one. That spread tells you something: almost no dealer specialises in them, and almost every furniture dealer handles one sooner or later.

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Regency Bookcases

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Free-standing English bookcases in the Regency taste, mostly mahogany or rosewood, built low and open so they could stand in a living room rather than a dedicated library.