Flip Top Cabinet

At first I was thinking music cabinet but with the flip-up top I thought phonograph cabinet. Either that or maybe a flatware cabinet. And I would guess 1920's or 30's. Found in Houston over the weekend. Had some nice burl on top that's been damaged and one of pulls is gone. No marks I could find other than the stamp "Foreign Made" under the top shelf.

 

Gramophone maybe?

 

Or older stereo components so to speak??? Did you remove the back or is that how you found it??

 

That's how I found it. It obviously had a back panel at some point but it's gone now. It does seem like a stereo cabinet, but 50 years before its time.

 

Interesting piece. Styling suggests art deco period, which fits in with your time frame. It is odd that the doors and flip-top both give access to the top compartment. Any holes or anything to suggest the top had something mounted inside?

 

I looked again and did not find any holes around the top or on the sides. I did notice that the top stay mechanism has a patent number. Looks to be 631753 or 331753. I searched Google patents for these numbers but didn't find anything. Any thoughts on looking up this number? Also, what do you make of the "Foreign Made" stencil. Have any of you seen that before or have any thoughts on where this cabinet may have been made?

 

Also, there is evidence that there may have been a piece that went across the front of the top section to enclose it but may have been broken off or removed. This shot is from inside the top section facing out the front .

 

If this use of Foreign Made is similar to the same showing up on ceramic goods in the 19teens, the phrase was used to 'hide' that the item was made in Germany (probably) shortly after WWI when emotions ran high about the war. Most goods using that term we see here were found in Europe rather than the USA.

 

Interesting. I did some quick searches yesterday and saw a few Thonet chairs that were marked "Foreign Made". They were probably from that same period.

 

Makes more sense that the top section was enclosed on the front. I just blew up your second photo and it does seem like there are some holes or marks where something may have been mounted inside. Can we have a better look?

 

Thanks @verybrad . Here's a closer shot of the top area. I still don't see holes where something would have been mounted but maybe I'm not looking for the right thing.

 

Thanks for pic. I was seeing the knots at the rear and thinking they were holes. I do not have a definitive use for this cabinet. A bit perplexing.