Book press

Dateca. 1750

Marked by William Alexander

OriginEngland, London

MediumPrimary: rosewood, mahogany; secondary: oak; glass, silver pulls. (specifically, veneered areas of front are rosewood; mahogany veneer on sides of case & on pediment; oak in drawer carcasses & behind facing of shelves.

DimensionsOH: 8'10"; OW at pediment: 5'8"; OD at pediment: 1' 8 1/8"; OW at feet: 5' 6 1/8"; OD at feet: 1' 7 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1956-438

DescriptionApperance: Book press: in three sections: pediment; middle section with shelves and glazed doors; lower section with drawers. Pediment is of broken triangular type; molded and carved with egg-and-dart dentil courses. Center section has two glazed doors which cover moveable shelves. Doors have six-pane fenestration; ovolo egg-and-dart glazing bars. Front corners of middle section quarter-round; carved with ribbon-and-flower design in repeating pattern. Similar molding, in combination with rose-and-dart strips, conceals division of bookshelf and drawer sections. Lower section contains four equal-sized drawers each with ovolo egg-and-dart moldings over non-fielded panels. Each drawer has silver bail pull in center of it. Silver is marked with a lion passant within a shield and "WA" within a shield by William Alexander, chandler of London. Corners of lower case quarter-round, and carved with ribbon-and-flower design in repeating pattern. Sides of upper case paneled with three panels; sides of lower case paneled with one panel. Panels framed within ovolo stiles and rails, edges of which are carved in egg-and-dart pattern. Ogee bracket feet carved with vines, leaves, and flowers; stippled background.

Construction:
Upper case oak top and bottom boards are dovetailed to the sides which consist of a sandwich of oak, rosewood veneer, and applied faux rails and stiles of rosewood veneered oak with carved inner quarter round moldings; backboards consist of two panels, each with five rails tenoned into the stiles with (replaced plywood) flat panels set into dadoes in the same; the two backboard panels are screwed into rabbets in the case sides and to the rear edges of the top, bottom, and central vertical divider; case sides have rosewood veneered front edge and inner integral oak ledger strips with molded front edges; the central oak vertical divider is likely in a dado or sliding dovetail in the top and bottom boards and has a rosewood veneered front edge and integral oak ledger strips with molded front edges on both sides; ten oak shelves with a rounded rosewood front edge; applied (likely glued) boards along the front edge of the top and bottom boards are veneered in rosewood on their exposed faces and create slight rabbets that serves as a door stops; the top face of the bottom board is rosewood veneered; oak lath is attached to the underside of the bottom at the sides.

Doors are constructed of oak with rosewood veneer on all surfaces except the top and bottom edges; rails are tenoned into the stiles and the vertical muntins are tenoned into the rails; glass is held in place on both sides by quarter round mahogany moldings spring nailed (with broken pins) to the rails and stiles; the outer molding is carved; doors are attached to the case with four brass hinges each; lock is secured to the rear of the proper left door and catches in a mortise with a brass plate over it in the central vertical divider; there are no thumb bolts on the proper right door.

The separate cornice is composed of a rosewood veneered oak dovetailed frame with an applied egg and dart carved molding along the bottom edge of the front and sides that sits down over the top of the case; thin oak top boards are nailed into lath that is attached to the inside of the frame; the cornice molding along the sides is composed of a horizontal oak board with a thick veneered facing edge that is screwed from the top into smaller oak boards faced with rosewood veneer and dentils with an egg and dart molding below; segmented oak blocks along the top of the horizontal board supports a carved ogee molding; the attachment of these moldings to the case is not visible but is likely nails and glue; the pitch pediment on the front of the cornice is composed of rosewood veneered vertical oak boards applied to the top of the frame with the same applied dentil and egg and dart molding as mentioned previously; one or two horizontal oak boards are screwed from the top into the vertical shaped boards and have veneer and carved ogee moldings applied to the front edges.

Lower case top and bottom are likely dovetailed (construction not visible) to the sides which are constructed of oak and rosewood like the upper case sides; carved mid molding is nailed to the top of the lower case; four horizontal oak backboards are nailed in rabbets in the sides, top and bottom and to the central vertical divider; the vertical divider is in a dado or sliding dovetail in the top and bottom; each side section has one shelf in dados in the case sides and the central divider; large thick wedges or think blocks are also in those dados under the shelf and a board along the underside of the shelf front edge is veneered along with the front edge of the shelf; the underside of the top board has similar but thinner wedges in dados along the sides and central divider and a thin board along the underside of the top’s front edge which is veneered with the same; the interior of the bottom has boards along the sides and central divider and one across the front with two blocks in the corners between the front and sideboards; the front edge of the bottom board and the interior board across the front are veneered; tightly packed segmented blocks (or one single board, kerfed) are attached to the underside of the bottom along the front, sides, and ends of the back to which the carved ogee based molding is attached on the front and sides; the carved ogee bracket feet, composed of mahogany backed with oak and set at an angle, are attached under the base molding and supported by two horizontal flanking glue blocks with a very large vertical block below them that has two screw pockets each for screws to attach the vertical block to the horizontal flankers.

Drawers have standard dovetail construction with front to back oriented oak bottom boards set in rabbets in the front and sides with thin oak runners nailed to the bottom along the front and sides within the rabbets; bottom boards have a very slight chamfer at their rear edges and are nailed to the bottom edge of the backboards; drawer fronts of rosewood veneered oak with possibly solid rosewood faux rails and stiles and carved mahogany inner quarter round molding applied.
Label TextExotic rosewood, excellent design, silver hardware, and workmanship of the highest quality combine to make this bookcase one of the outstanding masterpieces of 18th century cabinetmaking. The double book-matched rosewood with its extraordinary grain was chosen to follow the shapes of the inset panels in the drawers. The architectural pediment with enriched moldings and the projecting, carved ogee bracket feet are also excellent features.
MarkingsSilver bail handles have two stamps: lion passant assay mark and maker's mark "W A" within ovolo frame; smith identified as William Alexander, London. Alexander, a chandler, registered this mark on March 15, 1743. The shape of the shield around the lion (indicating sterling) remained in use in London from 1740 until 1756-57.
ProvenanceAt one time, presumably in the early part of the 20th century, and up until the early '40s, this bookcase was in the collection of Lord Plender. Robert W. Symonds was an advisor to Lord Plender. After Plender's death, Symonds influenced another collector, Geoffrey Hart. After Hart's death, he persuaded Mrs. Hart to part with it; sold it to C.W.