Featured Books and Bookcases

I have so many books that the shelves do not fit in the photo. You can see five shelves, but there are eight on one side of the wall and seven on the other wall. Total about 2000 books, including Ukrainian, Russian, English, German, French, Polish........ My ladder is always there because to reach the book on the top I have to climb 4 meters high ........ Very helpful to stay in shape!

 

Wow, that's hard core! I admire your multi-lingual skills, not to mention your amazing library. Is that a doll collection to the lower right?

 

I have lots of books, but the majority are in boxes. The best I can say is that the boxes are numbered and cataloged, and I can access them.

 

Very impressive! However one of my co-workers who is an engineer expressed some concern about the structural integrity of your shelving.

 

@Natasha. Truly wonderous and that you can read in all those languages. I am in awe.

 

Hi,
I love my Globe-Wernicke book case especially since it came with the feet and top.
mine was made in circa 1910.greg

 

I had an aunt who lived in a crowded bachelor apartment. She lived there into her 90s. There was a narrow corridor in the apartment, made narrower by packed, floor to ceiling, bookshelves. When the time came to clear the apartment, I took one book from a shelf, and that entire wall of books collapsed on me.

 

Greg I love those tassels on your bookcase. I see @Ghopper1924 has them too. What are they called?
Kiko

 

OW! You are still here, so she must have been looking after you.

Somehow...

 

"Hi,
I love my Globe-Wernicke book case especially since it came with the feet and top.
mine was made in circa 1910.greg"

I love 'em too. That is one handsome bookcase filled to the brim with cool stuff, adding interest and atmosphere to Greg's abode.

As a side note, I've never heard of Globe Wernickes falling on anybody; it certainly has not happened to me *knock wood.* The bases that the company provided are pretty stable.

Kiko, I think those are simply called tassels. That or pompoms. I don't recall ever actually saying those words, just grabbing one or two in an antique store and taking them to the checkout. I think that they can provide a nice finishing touch to a great piece like Greg's bookcase.

 

Hi,
They are tassels. I have them on the book cases and door knobs all over the house. I use them on the pull chains on the lamps. Also on the keys in the drawers.
I bought a bag of them (about 40) for a dollar at store closing. They are just plain. The really fancy ones I sold or gave away. One was 4" thich and weighted about 2 pounds. I used them as curtain tie backs.
greg

 

I have some of those tassels (not vintage) on my dresser too.
They make it look nicer I think.

 

Tassels. Never noticed them before unless on curtain ties. Will have to be on the lookout, if I'm able to grab up these bookcases. Right now there is another buyer coming to see them. I couldn't get there today Had appointments all afternoon.

 

Thanks, @Ghopper1924, but unfortunately I do not have that many lingual skills. The books in French belonged to my mother, the books in Polish were my father's. I do read in German but it's not my working language. So, I only have three - Ukrainian, English, and Russian. Yes, I have a small collection of nesting dolls (it is for sale) and a large collection of Soviet porcelain (part of it is also for sale)

 

I'm enjoying this discussion! Unfortunately, all of my bookshelves are of the modern particle board type. I do have one bookcase with glass doors but even that one was bought unassembled and put together. This thread is inspiring me to consider better shelving!

 

"I only have three - Ukrainian, English, and Russian."

Weeeelllll.....that's two more than some people have....

 

"This thread is inspiring me to consider better shelving!"'

Fun! It's always nice to have a goal!

 

I was able to obtain the Globe Wernicke bookcases, the first buyer did not meet his price. They came with an interesting story. The seller who works for the District Attorney, purchases and sells household contents related to cases. These bookcases were owned by a Senator's daughter who had a $18 million cash fortune and was the victim of an opportunist who moved in with her children to care for her claiming that she was her daughter. A neighbor ratted her out. The opportunist is now incarcerated and the victim's property was sold to support her care in an Alzheimer facility. The bookcases are from 1910 and were in the Senator's office. You should have seen some of the other stuff.

 

I have quite a variety of bookcases, though no photos...

-- A set of three oak antique barrister's bookcase units, I think Globe Wernicke, that my ex and I bought in RI when we were there to attend the Newport Folk Festival. We could only buy three, without a top or bottom, because we were there in a very small station wagon (anyone remember Opels?) with another couple and between the four of us and our bags, we barely could get the three units in.

-- An older mahogany bookcase, age unknown, with nice molding.

-- Two 30 year old oak bookcases that look like barrister bookcases, including separate glass doors and leaded glass in the top sections, but are actually one-piece.

-- Eight modern wood bookcases... the type where the shelves can drop down and the sides fold in.

-- Two circa 1950 cabinets with shelves that were my mother's.

-- And, finally, four circa 1950 very deep cabinets with shelves, also my mother's, that were unfinished furniture that she finished with a blond-type stain. Much as I'm not crazy about how these cabinets look, I need them to hold the very large and heavy antique books I inherited from her.

I would love to get to a point where I've sold many of the books and other objects held by these different bookcases and can have more room for art on the walls and other types of furniture. But not sure that's going to happen anytime soon!

 

Oops, I forgot about...

-- An old small wood bookcase with cutouts on the side that was also my mother's.

-- Four laquer knockdown bookcases that I've had for 30 years.

-- A cool pine? shelving unit that I bought used that has a gazillion shelves, but none high enough for books.

-- Three laminate knockdown cabinets with shelves that I've had for around 20 years.

-- Wire shelving that we put in one wide closet.

-- Five plastic shelving units, four steel shelving units, and two wire shelving units (plus two more to be set up) in our basement.

And I still don't have enough shelves for everything! Would someone like to come here and hold an estate sale for me? I'll give you a nice commission!