What is a compactum wardrobe?

It's a wardrobe fitted out inside with drawers and sliding trays beside the hanging space, often with a mirror, all in one case. The arrangement belongs to the later nineteenth and early twentieth-century bedroom. Compactum appears in 115 titles, and combination in another 51. Together with fitted wardrobes they make up roughly one in eight of the category.

How old are most mahogany wardrobes for sale?

Victorian and Edwardian between them account for the majority. The dated field records 343 Victorian and 300 Edwardian, with a further 164 logged only as 19th Century. Georgian and Regency pieces are real but a minority, around one in ten of the listings. The full span on Sellingantiques runs from 1760 to 1930.

Why are linen presses listed under wardrobes?

Because they do the same job in the same room. A linen press is a cupboard over a chest base, with sliding trays inside for folded linen rather than a rail for hanging. Press appears in 110 titles and linen press in 91, and dealers often pair the two words in one title, as Linen Press/Wardrobe.

What does breakfront mean on a wardrobe?

The centre section projects forward of the sections either side, giving the front a stepped profile rather than one flat plane. It shows up in 127 titles and pairs with triple in 31 of them. Breakfront examples, especially the four-door ones, sit at the upper end of the range.

Are French armoires included in this category?

Yes, though they're a small part of it. French appears in 41 titles and armoire in 37, usually together. Sampled entries include Louis XVI, Louis Philippe and Empire forms, some with ormolu mounts or brass inlay.

Which mahogany wardrobes are hardest to find?

Corner wardrobes are a rarity in the archive, and one sampled entry is a pair of them. Wardrobes are offered in pairs now and then. Campaign, knockdown, secretaire and turret wardrobes each surface only once or twice across the whole sample. Channel Islands wardrobes turn up as a regional oddity, described that way in a handful of entries spanning the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.