What wood are music cabinets usually made from?

Mahogany, walnut and rosewood are the three that dominate. Mahogany appears in 136 titles, walnut in 101 and rosewood in 39, with burr walnut a recurring note among the Victorian pieces. A minority are ebonised or oak. Rarer timbers show up once each, including satinwood, thuya wood, burr yew and birds eye maple.

How old are most antique music cabinets?

The dealer-supplied dates run from 1850 to 1930. Edwardian leads at 124 listings, Victorian follows at 73, and 121 carry a clean year. A further 27 are given only as 19th century, and titles use vaguer forms still, late Victorian, early 1900s, early 20th century. A good many pieces are placed to a reign rather than a decade. Outliers exist at both ends: two Regency titles, one a rosewood cabinet on a stand given as c.1820, and an Art Deco walnut example at the late end.

Can a music cabinet be used for something else?

That's how a lot of them are sold. The same case is offered as a side, display, bedside, hall, office, filing, stationery or record cabinet, and one as a shop display fitting. Other titles reach for pier cabinet, chiffonier, bookcase, whatnot or Canterbury. The narrow case suits any of it.

What is the difference between a door and a drawer cabinet?

The door type has a single glazed or panelled front over a fitted interior of shelves or slides. It's the commoner arrangement across the category. The drawer type stacks four to seven shallow drop-front drawers, sometimes behind a tambour shutter, each drawer taking sheet music flat. These are the ones titled as filing or folio cabinets, roughly one in ten of what comes up.

Do music cabinets come in pairs?

Occasionally. Eight or so listings offer two together, described as pairs, matched pairs or matching pairs. They sit above comparable single cabinets in the range.

Are there Arts and Crafts or Art Nouveau examples?

Yes, as a small but steady minority. Ebonised appears in 12 titles, with Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic Movement each on a handful more. The ebonised cabinets are sometimes paired with amboyna veneer. Style words of that sort turn up on one or two titles apiece rather than as recognised ranges.