Can I put heavy books on them?

It depends heavily on the design and timber. Thick mahogany shelves with sturdy, short uprights will usually take the weight of heavy volumes without issue. Delicate rosewood or bamboo examples with tall, slender supports are a different matter. They were built for lightweight porcelain and will start to sway if overloaded.

My living room has quite uneven floorboards and I want to display some delicate china on an etagere, so will it be stable enough?

Most etagere tables stand on four delicate feet, often fitted with brass casters. If your floorboards have significant dips, a rigid four-legged structure will wobble. You can sometimes fix this by resting one caster on a subtle felt pad. If the joints are tight, the structure itself is solid, but a sloping floor will always cause issues for displaying tall china objects.

What is the base drawer for?

The base drawer provided a closed storage area below the open display tiers. It kept practical items out of sight in a formal reception room. People kept sheet music, letters, or spare playing cards inside. It allowed the upper shelves to remain clear for ornaments.

I have noticed that some of these have mirrored backs on the lower shelves, was that a standard feature when they were originally made?

Mirrored backs turn up frequently on late nineteenth-century etageres, particularly those from French workshops. The mirror glass helped bounce light around a dim room and showed off the back of a porcelain figure. Earlier Georgian pieces rarely feature mirror backs. They relied on open sides to let the natural light flow right through the shelves. When a mirror is present, look at the glass itself. Antique mirror plates often show a subtle grey blooming or minor spots of silvering loss near the edges.

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Antique Etagere Tables

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An antique etagere table is a freestanding piece of light furniture featuring open stacked shelves connected by slender uprights, originally designed to display decorative porcelain and small volumes in drawing rooms without taking up much floor space.