I bought this at an estate sale because it reminds me of my grandmother, as she has many pieces similar to this. It seems extremely old and is incredibly rickety.
Thank you. I thought it might be older as my grandmother had the similar pieces her entire life (born early 30s) so for it to be dated for then means that my great grandmother would have had to buy it new...which surprises me a little because they were poorer than dirt. What would you call this piece of furniture? Ive just been calling it the little cabinet thing. Its smaller than the picture makes it look, just a little taller than my 5'2" self and just enough room on the shelves to place my 2 sets of currier and ives dishes . I can upload more pictures when I return home later, although I have removed the glass door because it was hanging by a thread. With the neat wooden peices on the glass, Id hate for it to fall and break.
I am thinking this was originally a radio cabinet. That low drop front is not a feature you see on furniture besides radio cabinets. That staining inside is also typical of leaking radio batteries. The two boards across the back are likely replacements. I imagine this is missing moldings since the front seems entirely too flat. The closure is obviously a make-do. How is the drop-front supported? I am not sure why you are surprised by the flat head screws. This is typical construction for a piece from this period.
I dont know anything about old furniture at all, other than I like it. Haha I just know that all my furniture today uses phillips head screws so when I went to pull the door off, I wasnt equipped with the right screwdriver and it took some time to find one.
When I open the drop bottom, this is what I see supporting it. Just this on the left side, no hardware on the right
