This certainly looks like a Globe-Wernicke bookcase but it is missing the interior labels. That means it must be identified by the style of the cabinet, the exterior hardware and the door suspension. (Flomaton Auction, Flomaton, AL photo)

Skandia Furniture Company of Rockford, IL patented its own line of oak stacking bookcases in 1908, calling it the "Viking" line. During the Depression they marketed three different styles of Viking, Mission, Standard and Colonial using numerous woods including plain and quarter cut oak, birch, walnut and mahogany in a variety of finishes.

Everybody's favorite purveyor of oak furniture, The Larkin Soap Company, even got into the act. In its 1908 catalog it introduced the No. 310 Sectional Bookcase. It could have been yours for a mere ten Larkin gift certificates. It consisted of a base, a crown and one each 9, 11 and 13 inch units. You could buy additional units of any size for three certificates or get a "starter" kit of base, crown and one 11 inch unit for five certificates. Of course it came in quarter cut oak with the standard polished Golden Oak finish. By 1917 the number had changed to the No. A10140 Sectional and the price of the basic three unit set had risen to a $28 purchase or $28 worth of coupons. It also now came in birch with a polished mahogany finish and in fumed oak finish. By 1922 the new unit was available for a cash price of $25 or $50 worth of coupons.

Another competitor was the F. E. Hale Mfg. Co. of Herkiner, NY. They offered a model called the "Herkiner" with leaded glass in two sections, one above and one below a drop front oak desk unit and Udell Works of Indianapolis had a stacking model.

Most of the manufacturers stopped making stacking bookcases by the mid 1930s during the Depression era.

The most commonly seen brands will be Globe-Wernicke and Macey in today's market. But of course there were many other makers of the so-called "barrister" bookcases other than just the seven listed here. They all used the same basic design and wood so many times it may be hard to tell a Larkin cabinet from a Gunn from a Globe, especially if the bookcase has been refinished and the labels are conveniently missing. The devil is in the details for distinguishing makes from one another, primarily in the type of hardware and suspension method used to hang and operate the doors.

Missing hardware and suspension parts used to be the kiss of death for the sale of a Globe-Wernicke or Macey cabinet but in today's market there are several companies that can provide exact duplicates for the missing pieces. One of the best among them is Rufkahr's, P.O. Box 241384, Memphis TN 38124-1384, (800) 545-7947

Send your comments, questions and pictures to me at PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or fmtaylor@aol.com.
 
 

Visit Fred's website at www.furnituredetective.com.  His book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is available for $18.95 plus $3.00 S&H (U.S.). Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.

Fred and Gail Taylor's DVD "IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE", $17.00 + $3.00 S&H (U.S.) and a bound compilation of the first 60 columns of "COMMON SENSE ANTIQUES by Fred Taylor" ($25.00 + $3.00 S&H (U.S.) are also available at the same address. For more information call (800)387-6377, fax (352)563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.com.