Globe Wernicke Oak Card Catalog File 15 Drawer Bakelite

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This is a great old, solid oak Globe-Wernicke library card catalog or index card file. Extremely well made, with paneled sides. Dovetailed joinery on solid wood drawers. Great large, chunky art deco label pulls appear to be made of Bakelite, though I don't want to run any "experiments" to find out. I'd guess this is from the 1930s or 1940s. Designed to stack on other units of the same standard dimensions: 17" deep X 33" wide. (About 15" tall.) If you don't have any other units, you could top this off with a nice piece of slate or granite, put wheels on the bottom, and make a most excellent coffee table out of it. Condition: Wood is in very good condition for its age, with a nice patina but only slight scratching. The one exception is the rear of the right side, w a piece of the corner wood has cracked away. (See photos.) All pulls are intact and solid with one small crack I noticed in one pull. (Does not affect the fuction.) All drawers slide in and out easily. The original sliding card supports are missing. The open section at the bottom of each drawer has been covered with either cardboard or a slat of thin wood, to make the drawers more useful for storage. Cardboard could easily be removed and replaced with a more attractive material. The drawers in this unit are designed to be held in the unit by a little stay. The drawer back would hit this stay, and the user would have to tip the drawer up before it would slide out. Because of this stay, the backs of the drawers in this cabinet are about 1/2" taller than typical drawers. Unfortunately, bumping against the drawer stays seems to have caused the raised backs of the drawers to crack off; on several of the drawers, the back section has cracked and is now as low as the rest of the internal drawer. I don't think this is a big flaw, since all the other card catalogs I've bought have low drawer backs. However, if you want to have the drawer stays work the way they did originally, it shouldn't be too hard to modify the drawer backs a bit so that they will catch again. Again, see photos. Please ask all questions before you bid. I try to be very honest in my eBay listings, but I can't be an expert at any one section of antiquing. I'd be happy to look more closely at this unit and answer any questions you have. T is a possibility that I can get a second unit excactly like this one. If you think you might be interested in both, please e-mail me to let me know. Because of the heavy weight of this item, local pick-up is greatly preferred. Distant buyers will have to be responsible for arranging and paying for all packaging and shipping. Please contact me before you bid to see if shipping is financially feasible for you. Unfortunately, t's simply no easy and inexpensive way to get very large pieces like this to distant cities. Notes 8/23: This is designed for cards that are 3 X 5. Also, it is not too difficult to carry if you remove the drawers and transport them separately. I am a wimpy woman who does not go to the gym, and I can carry this upstairs by myself. I have hauled several of these units in the back seat/trunk of my little Toyota Corolla. Note: I have also acquired the second unit that matches this one. It is in very similar condition. The left side is scratched up some, and the right side has a crack at the back that would need to be glued. (Looks like the same damage that chipped the first one almost got this one - but the wood is intact and it's an easy fix.) One handle has a couple small cracks that don't affect the use. I will be happy to let the buyer purchase and pick up the second cabinet as well, for a very reasonable price. E-mail me for details. read more

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