Help to identify china closet

I have an antique china closet that was handed down to me by my grandmother, and I believe her parents had it before her. My grandmother is deceased, and the closet has been in storage because I did not have room for it until now.

I would like to see if anyone knows who the maker is, and how old it may be. I had a good look over it, and could not find a makers mark.

It does have the original tag on the back from the furniture store - Union Furniture Company, 313-315 Camp Street, New Orleans. There is more written in pencil, but I am unable to make out what it says.

On the back of the cabinet, hand written in white, its also says "41303 6/20 Glass."

Thank you for any assistance.

 

Welcome. According to an article/ad in the Times-Democrat from 22 Nov 1899 the address listed on the label a company by the name of Dixie Furniture had occupied that address. In another paper Time-Picayune dated 3 October 1899 Corbera & Klein had been located at 323 Camp Street in the same paper they list Corbera & Klein at 313 & 3 before 3 October 1899.

 

Sorry I hit enter. Corbera & Klein were at 315 & 3115 by 3 October 1899. Your piece would be from that period forward.. Looks to be early 20th century. Do further search for Corbera & Klein at 313 & 315 Camp Street .. old ads are great for figuring out dates for such businesses. Good luck to you.

 

Mass produced turn of the century oak,but nicer looking than most. It might be hard to pin down a specific maker,1000's were making this stuff.This one is particularly decorative.

 

Thank you for the replies. I found a brief article dated October 15, 1901, stating that a fire had destroyed the Union Furniture Company in New Orleans, which was in the process of moving to its new location. I also found some legal stuff beginning in 1899 where Corbera and Klein were liquidating the corporation, with a time line going all of the way into 1901. So would it be safe to assume that the cabinet is likely pre-1901?

 

Did it give the address? If it is the 313 & 315 then I would say pretty much 1899 to 1901. It looks to be from that early 1900s period. What johnnycb09 said is true though, finding a maker is likely not to be. Unless a marked pieces shows up. A nice piece though. 30 years ago they were in high demand, not sure about today. Tastes change.

 

No, it did not give an address, but it is neat to at least narrow it down to a possible three year time frame. I'm not worried about value or selling; just more interested in it's age. I'd never sell it. I got it out of storage today; just need to dust it off and put stuff in it.

 

Welcome! I was born and raised in New Orleans and I remember the Dixie Furniture company on Camp St was where my 1950s bedroom set came from. It's not unusual to have more than one business d/b/a (doing business as) at the same address in NOLA, or even using more than one address delivered to the same building!

Your cabinet is very pretty, looks to have been refinished with polyurethane. Is it oak wood? It's difficult to tell what type of wood due to the refinishing.

 

Circa 1900 is dead on and agree with the comments others have provided above. It is oak and seems to be in good refinished condition other than the back-splash not looking right. Appears to be pine or, maybe, poplar. It should be oak and probably more decorative than this. It either is a replacement or may have had the oak veneer and carvings removed at some point. Some of these had much more elaborate tops so it is possible that more than just the back-splash is wrong.

Here is one with a more elaborate top for example. As this furniture went out of style, the tops were often removed to make the furniture appear more modern.

 

Thanks for the info and photo, Brad.

 

Oooo,I LOVE that!

 

Yeah Johnny, me too! I'd never seen such an ornate cabinet top before!

 

I really like the OP's piece, very handsome and nice lines. Cool that it has the original label.

Will be so much fun to fill it! I would have a field day with that.