Over the top Eastlake Victorian Butler's Chest
F1nut
Posts: 51,027
I just finished restoring this piece for a client. It required a complete disassembly, literally hundreds of parts, then the rebuild/replacement/reglue not to mention a lot cosmetic work. All in all, it was a bit of a nightmare and I'll be glad to not see it in my shop anymore.
The reason I am posting this is after all these years and all the Victorian furniture I've worked on this is without question the most over the top piece I have ever seen. So, I thought I'd share with you what at one time was the height of furniture fashion. The crazy thing about it, for all the craftsmanship you see on the outside the case construction was some of the worst I've ever seen.
Enjoy!
The reason I am posting this is after all these years and all the Victorian furniture I've worked on this is without question the most over the top piece I have ever seen. So, I thought I'd share with you what at one time was the height of furniture fashion. The crazy thing about it, for all the craftsmanship you see on the outside the case construction was some of the worst I've ever seen.
Enjoy!
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
Comments
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Geez that is hideous, nice finish job though.The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
wow.
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motorhead43026 wrote: »Geez that is hideous, nice finish job though.
Yeah....not my taste for sure.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
It takes some real skill to get wood to give that warm glow. Doesn't come from 4 coats of shellac and Lemon pledge.
It wasn't given to you covered in paint was it ? If it was, double bravo.
..... make that triple bravo.
Sal Palooza -
That's the original finish after a lot of cleaning, touch up, repairs, waxing and polishing. If it was covered in paint I wouldn't have touched it because I have two rules. I don't strip paint and I don't strip paint.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Amazing! Good work...2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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Not to shabby for splashing on a little old English...
Kidding
Kind of cool looking piece you just don't run across those everyday -
Very nice conservation and repair, Jesse. A little too ornate for my taste, but still beautiful.Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
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dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Nice work. That’s an interesting piece of furniture. I don’t have any idea what one would use that drawer for.Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
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Daggum Jesse. That is Ut Bckin' Fugly. Did I mention that that was Ut Buckin' Fugly?
Great job man...(I think)...
Personally, I'd choose a bigger golf course.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
jeremymarcinko wrote: »Nice work. That’s an interesting piece of furniture. I don’t have any idea what one would use that drawer for.
It's a butler's chest, that's the desk section. The entire piece can be locked up, the column on the right closes over the right side edge of the drawers and once locked prevents all the drawers from opening.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
What in the world does a BUTLER have to hide?
Tom
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Great job Jesse! Looks like that took some time. I hope you were well compensated and much appreciated by your client!Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
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Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Your a master craftsman.Some final words,
"If you keep banging your head against the wall,
you're going to have headaches."
Warren -
I think it looks kind of cool. I wouldn't want it in my space, it's just too different from modern furniture to mix, but it's kinda neat.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
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erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
In THAT thing?
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
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@F1nut,
Beautifully done! Extraordinary craftsmanship on your part.
I certainly understand your comments about the piece itself, as well as those of others. It seems to be a piece that belongs in a museum, especially after your restoration.
One thing I don't understand is the the reason that anybody would build such a piece with a second-rate "foundation." For all its ornate charateristics, you would think it would have great underlying case work.
Is it English? American? Other?
One other question: Does it have a secret drawer or compartment? Many chests of that sort do, but I don't recall ever having seen a "butler's chest."
Very well done!
P.S.: You know, if it didn't have those "roses" on the top drawer, It would look a lot better!Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
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What in the world does a BUTLER have to hide?
Tom
A candlestick. Apparently he whacked Colonel Mustard upside the head in the study with it.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Good deal, I thought it was an arsenal of these....
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
What in the world does a BUTLER have to hide?
Tom
Butler's ran the house. Among their responsibilities were such things as keeping the household accounts, dishing out cash payments, keeping the silver locked up, etc.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Moose68Bash wrote: »@F1nut,
Beautifully done! Extraordinary craftsmanship on your part.
I certainly understand your comments about the piece itself, as well as those of others. It seems to be a piece that belongs in a museum, especially after your restoration.
One thing I don't understand is the the reason that anybody would build such a piece with a second-rate "foundation." For all its ornate charateristics, you would think it would have great underlying case work.
Is it English? American? Other?
One other question: Does it have a secret drawer or compartment? Many chests of that sort do, but I don't recall ever having seen a "butler's chest."
Very well done!
P.S.: You know, if it didn't have those "roses" on the top drawer, It would look a lot better!
I agree, this is one that belongs in a museum.
I can only surmise they cut corners where it wouldn't be noticed be the end user.
Definitely American.
No secret compartments, none required as once the right post is locked none of the drawers can be opened.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Wow. My butler could not hold 1/2000 of my music collection in that.
Jesse, all kidding and rib rubbing aside? Fantastic job man! Rock it bro'!
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Yeah, we all know locks are to keep honest people out.
Tom, thanks!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Jesse you do great work, I bet it didn't look that good the day it was purchased!VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
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Signal Cable Silver Resolution IC's -
I kept thinking toy soldiers were just moments from marching out onto the putting green.I disabled signatures.
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Hope you charged what the job was really worth.
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jeremymarcinko wrote: »Nice work. That’s an interesting piece of furniture. I don’t have any idea what one would use that drawer for.
It's a mini pool table. Duh.
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."![:\](https://forum.polkaudio.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
Great looking restoration job Jesse. Not crazy about the furniture itself, however (except for the mini pool table).
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
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