Description
This gorgeous Victorian Renaissance Revival bookcase was likely made by prominent Baltimore cabinetmaker Robert Renwick. There is no maker’s mark, but the bookcase was purchased by the current owner’s parents in the early 1970s at a Baltimore estate sale, with the signature “R” key attached to a handwritten tag with the”Renwick (handmade) Bookcase.”
The Baltimore Wholesale Business Directory and Business Circular for the Year 1852 noted that Robert Renwick “Has always for sale, and is prepared to manufacture to order, everyof CABINET FURNITURE, on the most reasonable terms. Particular attention paid to UNDERTAKING [i.e., he also made caskets].” Renwick was active from 1835 to 1876, but he was imprisoned at Ft. McHenry in 1861, following his arrest for treason by the War Department in 1861. His sons John and Frank continued his business, but were victims of the nationwide economic panic of the mid-1880s and declared bankruptcy in 1889. Therefore, the bookcase dates to at least the 1880s, and possibly earlier, since the Renaissance Revival style was most active from 1860 to 1875.
Notable features include the delicate and slightly irregular dovetail joinery of the drawers, indicating handmade craftsmanship; burlwood accents on the drawer fronts, side columns, and pediment; and pediment accented with a scallop-edged Acanthus spinosus leaf (a classical motif used widely in Renaissance Revival and other rococo styles).
The standout detail, of course, is the large, ornate, intricate, dimensional rosette, nearly 6 inches in diameter, which is comprised of 8 concentric circles and is echoed with 4 smaller, simpler inscribed rosettes at the top corners of each door.
Dimensions:
Total: 49.5 wide in x 27 in deep x 72 in tall
Ornament on top, behind large center rosette: 28 in wide x 16 in deep x 7.5 high
Center rosette: 5.75 in diameter x 2 in deep
Smaller door rosettes: 2 in diameter
Width across top outer corners of millwork: 49.5 in
Cabinet: 46 in wide x 17 in deep
Cabinet interior: 43.75 in wide x 11 in deep x 43.5 in high
Drawers: each is 19.5 in wide; interior is 18.375 in wide x 11.25 in deep x 6 in high
Baseboard: 5 in highSee
- Dimensions
- 49.5ʺW × 17ʺD × 72ʺH
- Styles
- Renaissance Revival
- Victorian
- Period
- Late 19th Century
- Country of Origin
- United States
- Item Type
- Vintage, Antique or Pre-owned
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- Materials
- Brass
- Burlwood
- Glass
- Walnut
- Condition
- Good Condition, Original Condition Unaltered, Some Imperfections
- Color
- Brown
- Condition Notes
- The cabinet is in remarkably good condition for its age. Doors and drawers open and close freely with no rubbing …moreThe cabinet is in remarkably good condition for its age. Doors and drawers open and close freely with no rubbing or binding. The glass door fronts have no chips, cracks, or scratches. The lower baseboard has some minor scuffs commensurate with use and age. The top inside edge of the left door has a chip approximately 1/4 in wide (see photo). The shelves show wear and scratches commensurate with books being taken on and off the shelves. The key smoothly operates the locks on the drawers, but the keyholes on the doors are either decorative or operated by a different key that is missing. The ornament around the keyhole on the right drawer is missing part of the top section.
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