Doe and Hope

Description

The superb quality flame mahogany veneered bank of apothecary drawers of large proportions, nearing seven feet long, having a stained pine carcass with thirty-nine individual graduated cockbeaded drawers, many having hand-painted labels in Latin, each with a turned knob handle, surviving from the mid-Victorian period.

The condition of the bank of drawers is very good with the piece having had some restoration to it which includes restored back boards and some replacement handles. There are some minor losses to the cockbeading, and some marks and knocks, that you one expect to see. The patination to the whole is wonderful especially to the good quality flame mahogany veneers. She is sound and stable and ready to be used, save perhaps some cleaning of the drawers interiors.

Labels to the drawers include Glycerin, Chalk, Calumba Root and Kino Gum to name but a few. Painted labels such as these were eventually phased out and replaced with labels under glass (LUG) later in the century so as to stop the abrasion of the labels themselves.

Banks or flights of drawers such as this would have been the staple of the apothecary shop, which in tandem with the phials and bottles would have made up the apothecary’s long and extensive inventory. They are now used for a myriad of other purposes.

Of superior colour and generous size, a much sought after piece of versatile decorative furniture.