Strange drawer

[AlexS]

Has anyone seen a drawer like this before? It's from a fall front bureau in Aus. cedar. It's the drawer under the fall, and when it's opened. the front half drops down so things can still be taken out of it. This means that when it's closed, there is a gap between the drawer bottom and front.

This may be common, I don't do much with old furniture. Anyone seen it before?

[jmk89]

Alex

I've never seen one like it and, more importantly, neither has my mother (who spent more thn 30 years buying antique Australian furniture). She may ask some of her buddies in the trade, but then again she may not (she is 77 and sometimes has some short-term memory lapses).

I can see it as being very useful in a drawer that holds papers, but a bit of a PITA if you put things that roll about in there....

Perhaps a more satisfactory system would have overlapping leaves at the sides - if the leaf was attached to the inside of the front part of the side, it would swing up as the front dropped and stay out of the way, but when the drawer is slid back in it would cover the triangular hole.

[rhancock]

Random musings from a guy who knows nothing about antiques...

If it was for something which fitted well, then it wouldn't matter about the hole. I'm thinking of something made to fit, like a writing box, maybe, or a tray?

[AlexS]

Random musings from a guy who knows nothing about antiques...

If it was for something which fitted well, then it wouldn't matter about the hole. I'm thinking of something made to fit, like a writing box, maybe, or a tray?
Quite possible, or even a ream of paper would be fine. Just never come across one before. It's not a bad idea, means the contents can be accessed when the fall is down.

[rhancock]

Is a pic of the entire piece possible, to see where the drawer fits?

[Timbre Surfer]

it would be good to store full drawer width items that are deep, so that you don't have to lift them vertically out of the drawer. like a row of wine bottles stored with the neck facing forward. you would only need to pull the drawer out enough to pull the item out.

[orraloon]

Can't say I have seen one before but it would allow something that can't bend to be taken out. Takes no effort to do unlike hinging the drawer front panel. You would then have catches to undo.
Regards
John

[Ashore]

Rekon the ream of paper would be close , good idea realy :2tsup:

[Ozkaban]

I think I'd agree with Timbre Surfer on something like wine bottles (though you'd expect some sort of holders to stop them rolling sideways).

Dunno about the ream of paper - seems ok, but when were reams invented? I would have thought for photocopiers or the like...

Cool drawer though Alex. Would love to see a pic of the whole piece too.

Cheers,
Dave

[AlexS]

Afraid I can't get a pic of the whole piece, I only took the drawer for repair. The drawer is immediately under the fall front, so it normally wouldn't be accessible when the writing surface is down. This way, paper or whatever could still be pulled out when the drawer was opened and the fall was down.

It's quite a niece piece, but I don't believe it was professionally made. It's Australian cedar, and I suspect it was made by a reasonably skilled amateur.

[Ozkaban]

The drawer is immediately under the fall front, so it normally wouldn't be accessible when the writing surface is down. This way, paper or whatever could still be pulled out when the drawer was opened and the fall was down.

That's pretty clever thinking and construction :2tsup:

Cheers,
Dave

[bsrlee]

Of course one reason you - and we - have never seen another one like it is that it wasn't a success.

Paper in reams goes back a looong way, I'm guessing early 1700's with the first mechanised ( water powered) paper mills taking over from hand beaten pulp paper.

[chowcini]

how does that work is the draw bottom short? or is the a groove that the excess slides past? or is there a split in the bottom that i cant see?

[AlexS]

The drawer bottom is short - there is about 25mm gap between it and the drawer front. The front half of the drawer bottom is unsupported (ply).

[Saskatoon]

Just to clarify, in printing & paper industry - a 'ream' is 500 sheets of paper, of any size (many moons ago 480 sheets i.e. 40 dozen).
I agree that it looks like a document drawer.

[munruben]

Just seen this thread. That is very unusual. I have never seen one before. I would agree to it being a document drawer too. Thanks for sharing the pics with us.:2tsup:

[Eldanos of KDM]

It looks like it a DIY afterthought? What do you reckon Alex?

[AlexS]

I think it was an amateur builder who had what he thought was a good idea for a document drawer that could be opened when the writing fall was down.

[auscab]

My guess without seeing the rest of it would be , a place to rest the fall front for a different writing or reading angle, lower than horizontal, if the bureau has lopers to rest the fall on and they are pushed in will it work in that way?
Rob.

[joe greiner]

I'd bet a whole dollar it's part of a portable, or non-portable, desk, and used for storing paper. Thomas Jefferson invented one a little like this, but without the hinged bottom for the drawer. (Lucky guess): Google [jefferson writing desk] provides some significant hits, including other eras and Merrie Olde.

Cheers,
Joe

[rhancock]

Hmm.. Are you sure its old? :wink:

Looking at a Google Images search of "Jefferson writing desk", I came across lots of writing desks with keyboard draws which look just like yours...?

Here's one: Kathy Ireland Home by Martin Furniture Mission Hills 58" W Traditional Writing Desk - IMMH384 (http://www.csnofficefurniture.com/IMMH384-MF1724.html)

[AlexS]

Yes, it's a small writing desk, but the drawer wasn't to support the fall front. As for age, I'd guess it was made in the 1950s, but that's just a guess. It could have been an afterthought, but more likely designed that way, as the drawer was still the right depth.

[wjfiles]

I rather think that it would be ideal for a phone directory.