We have a large selection of antique bookcases made from mahogany, oak, walnut and rosewood which vary in size from a small Victorian book slide which you would use on your desk top to hold 10-15 books to the large Georgian library break front bookcases which hold hundreds of books.
The book slide or trough can have fixed ends or the type which folds down at each end when not being used, the slides some times expand to allow extra space for more books.
Wall hanging bookshelves do not adjust so you have to make sure that the books you have will go between the shelves and the wall you are fixing to will be strong enough to take the weight.
Open bookcases or open shelves can come with fixed or adjustable shelves, the adjustment is either a cross bar that fits into brackets to the inside of the shelves and shelf rests on top or pins that fit into holes at the inside of the bookcase and the shelf rests on the pins. Which ever adjustment there is it gives flexibility and you can choose not to use all of the shelves if you wish.
Glazed antique Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian bookcases with cupboard, cabinet or drawer bases are at the larger end of your choice. The two door bookcase most times has a glazed bookcase top with locking pins inside the left had door to keep it closed and a lock and key for the right hand door. Again with adjustable and removable shelves which adjust in the same way as the open books shelves.
The cupboard space below is a great storage area, and most times is deeper than the top so holds lots of items you want hidden from sight. You can sometimes find the bookcase has a drawer above the cupboard, which is as deep as the base and has plenty of extra storage space. The bookcases dismantle into two pieces, the glazed top, and the cupboard base, sometimes the cornice will unscrew and come off as a separate piece (the shaped top piece above the glazed doors)
A variation of this is a bookcase with a “Secreataire” drawer, as seen with the George III mahogany and the George IV oak examples, a drawer that pulls out of the base the drawer then front falls forward and the inside is fitted out as a desk with drawers, pigeon holes and a writing surface. You some can also have drawers in the base as opposed to cupboards.
The four door bookcases obviously are a larger version of the smaller two door bookcase and can store hundreds of books with up to 5 shelves in each glazed section as can be seen with our Regency and Victorian mahogany examples with cupboards below and some times drawers above the cupboards. It depends on the design and construction of the bookcase how it dismantles, three long pieces, the cornice, glazed top and then the base.
