Ebonized Music Cabinet

Hi all. I recently found this great little Ebonized American Aesthetic Music Cabinet to add to the huge pile of furniture that is littering the parlor. I checked out a reference book I have and, well, lo-and-behold, there was my cabinet. It is only 39 inches tall and originally came in either a small size (top = 13 x 17 inches) or a larger size (top = 13 x 20 inches) - this is the larger size. It was also available in either Solid Walnut with Ebony and gilt accents for $24 or Ebonized Walnut with Gilt for $24. Check out all those super old American machine-produced Aesthetic cabinets. WOW - this is the stuff I love ... Thank goodness for the industrial revolution.

(side note - and this always makes me laugh - You know all that "hand-carved" Victorian furniture you see on eBay - MACHINE MADE ... yup yup ... how in the world could it all have been made entirely by hand. Did we all really forget 3rd grade history and the whole story of mechanization and the Victorian Industrial Revolution ? OH ... and why are we all such suckers for that term "hand-carved")



According to the book, and the reprinted catalog page, it was made by Clarke Bros. & Co. but oddly, there is no information about this company (like where they were, when they were in existence, etc...)

If anyone knows anything, please e-mail me. I love the little cabinet nonetheless, but wouldn't it be great to know more about it !



 

I just discovered that the Clarke Brothers Furniture Co. was located in Cincinnati OH. This makes sense since I have found three items on the reprinted catalogue pages that I have bought in the Louisville area. More info as I discover more ...