A wooden bookcase with a taller double-width center section and a shorter single-width section to right and left of the center. A variety of woods were used, in particular walnut and blackened cherry. The piece is embellished with inlays and there are six drawers, each with a bronze pull. The doors of the cabinet have glass panels and can be locked.

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Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
2013	We acquired this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2017	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Bookcase

This is a Bookcase. It was made by Herter Brothers. It is dated ca. 1875 and we acquired it in 2013. Its medium is joined and inlaid walnut, ebonized cherry, marquetry of various woods, incised gilding, plate glass, cast brass hardware. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

This tripartite inlaid bookcase cabinet was produced by the Herter Brothers, the most important 19th-century American Aesthetic Movement furniture maker. The cabinet shows the influence of the English Reform Movement architect Bruce Talbert in its ornamentation and intentionally chaste rectilinear form. The ornamentation includes marquetry motifs derived from sunflowers, a favorite symbol of both the British Aesthetic Movement and the Herter Brothers. The quality of the inlays is superb, a specialty of Herter Brothers that led to their being one of the first—if not the first—American furniture makers to have a following abroad. Herter Brothers pieces were exported to Britain at the time they were made, which raises an extremely interesting issue of the possible reciprocal influences between their work and those of their British contemporaries.
This bookcase cabinet would be the first marked piece and the first case piece of furniture by the Herter Brothers to enter museum’s collection. The shelves and top make this an excellent piece for the exhibition of period objects and book bindings.

This object was donated by George P. Ververis Jr.. It is credited Gift of George P. Ververis, Jr..

Dome-shaped Architectural Staircase Model

Dome-shaped Architectural Staircase Model
walnut and beechwood.
Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw.
2014-11-3

Armchair (USA)
ash, leather, brass.
Museum gift in loving memory of Robert Kaufmann, by his sister, Catherine Tatum.
2009-45-2

Frieze, Japanese Passion Flower
block-printed on embossed paper.
Gift of Edith and Maude Wetmore.
1939-45-11-a,b

Its dimensions are

H x W x D (overall): 162.6 x 243.8 x 41.9 cm (5 ft. 4 in. x 8 ft. x 16 1/2 in.) H x W x D (each end unit): 121.9 x 68.3 x 41.3 cm (48 in. x 26 7/8 in. x 16 1/4 in.)

It has the following markings

Stamped Herter Bros once on each end piece on verso near top

Cite this object as

Bookcase; Made by Herter Brothers (United States); joined and inlaid walnut, ebonized cherry, marquetry of various woods, incised gilding, plate glass, cast brass hardware; H x W x D (overall): 162.6 x 243.8 x 41.9 cm (5 ft. 4 in. x 8 ft. x 16 1/2 in.) H x W x D (each end unit): 121.9 x 68.3 x 41.3 cm (48 in. x 26 7/8 in. x 16 1/4 in.); Gift of George P. Ververis, Jr.; 2013-12-1-a/mm

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Passion for the Exotic: Japonism.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/493ZD/
Accession Number 2013-12-1-a/mm
Object ID 35520455