Combination Shelf Table, ca. 1896
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GUEST:
Well, I brought a, uh, Combination table. And about 40 years ago, I was starting my first professional job as a teacher, and a friend of mine had this with paint all in it stored, and she wanted to get rid of it. And, uh, I loved it, so she gave it to me.
APPRAISER:
So what we have here is a Combination table made by the Combination Table Company. And it's got two patent dates, if we look at the plaque, of 1893 and 1896. Which is sort of two designs, refined designs and patents.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And it's classic turn-of-the-century furniture. Here we have, it's just simple oak shelving and turned base, which is all machine-made. This is classic American ingenuity at the time where mechanization and manufacturing in furniture and design was coming to the forefront in the American landscape. With a simple thumbscrew on, on your side, we can, we can convert this to a shelving unit...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...or a table. They usually have sort of about three positions: the, the flat table; and if we move it up, you can leave it like this. And these were often used as store displays. If you think of pharmacies and things like that...
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
...great way to display your products. And what's so neat, and special, ingenious design is that you can place something on the shelf and convert it to a table and it won't fall off. There's not a lot known about the Combination Table Company. We, we do know is, that company was bought out by the Yesbera Company. And I just think it's just a killer piece. If this piece were to come to auction, I'd probably estimate it at $800 to $1,200.
GUEST:
(laughing) Okay. Oh, that's better than I thought.
APPRAISER:
But... And for that kind of money, you know, you couldn't not own it.
GUEST:
(laughing) It's yours.
GUEST AND
APPRAISER:
(both laughing)
Appraisal Details
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