How old are most haberdashery cabinets?

The dated field runs from 1850 to 1950, but the interwar years dominate. Of 223 cleanly dated listings, 81 are 1920s and 79 are 1930s. Earlier decades thin out quickly: 24 from the 1910s, 12 from the 1900s, 11 from the 1890s and seven from the 1880s. Only three listings reach the 1950s.

What wood are they usually made from?

Oak is named in 61 titles and mahogany in 43, so between them they cover a good part of the category. Other timbers are one-offs: walnut, burr walnut, cedar, pine, beech and stained deal each turn up once or twice. Some fittings are framed in brass or bronze instead, with a single aluminium-framed display counter recorded.

Are these cabinets always from haberdashers?

No. Neighbouring trades used the same style of fitting, and dealers list them under the same heading. Chemist, apothecary, dentist, jeweller, bijouterie, shoe and shirt cabinets all appear, as do sign-written confectionery advertising cases. Filing, library card and collectors' banks of drawers are filed here too.

How big do the counters get?

The largest recorded is a Victorian haberdashery drawer counter measured at 4.95 metres. Two further counters are quoted simply as 6ft. At the other end sit table-top and countertop cases small enough to carry. Between the two are single, double and triple stacks and units described as "3 across".

Do many of these come up for sale?

Around 23 come to market a year on Sellingantiques, and 56 different dealers have listed one. It's a wide, shallow trade rather than the preserve of a few specialists. Glazed counter-top display cases make up the majority of live stock at any one time.

Were any made outside Britain?

Non-British pieces turn up only rarely. The examples recorded are a Parisian haberdashery fitting, a late nineteenth-century French museum case, a French brass glazed shop cabinet and one American showcase from Illinois. Everything else in the archive reads as British shopfitting.

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Antique Haberdashery Cabinets

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Shop furniture from drapers' and haberdashers' counters: banks of shallow drawers and glazed display cases built to store ribbons, threads, buttons and collars and show them across a counter.