RARE EARLY-MID 19TH C BRITISH ANTIQUE LEATHER CVRD WOOD BOOKSTAND W/COAT OF ARMS

Description

RARE
EARLY
to
MID 19TH CENTURY
B
R
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ANTIQUE LEATHER
WRAPPED WOODEN BOOKSTAND,
with
FELT
COVERED CUT-OUT LEGS, APPLIED TRANSFER
DECAL,
featuring
B
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T
I
S
H
COAT
of
ARMS,
DESIGNED
for
PLACEMENT
on
MANTLE,
SIDEBOARD
or
DESK
(Circa 1820-1850)
Early to mid 19th century
B
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antique table top book stands & book holders
DIMENSIONS:
12
3⁄4" Length x 5
1⁄2" Height x
9" Depth
Weight:
2 lbs. 3 oz.
DESCRIPTION:
With expected natural drying, crazing and crackling of the leather book stand covering, which would be considered normal, considering the book stand is now between
170-200 years old.
There's only minimal leather loss, located principally at the corners of the lower shelf. The leather is naturally tanned and enjoys a wonderful, variegated color and aged patina, featuring episodes of mahogany, walnut, amber, chestnut, oak and deep sepia brown. On each side panel is found not one but two identical
B
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coat of arms,
featuring a standing lion and horse clutching a central medallion, featuring the families' insignia, topped off with a medieval coat of armor, closed visored helmet, capped with a lion on top. The coat of arms is decorated with red, blue, white and gold colors. The construction of the stand is simple, with a
'V' shaped wedge,
which accommodates the placement of several volumes. In the
late 18th and early 19th century
and up even until the
mid 19th century,
books, be they leather or cloth bound, were highly valued and were often the rarified, prized possessions of patricians, patriarchs, barristers, gentlemen of means and the gentried class. They were costly in their day and would be cared for and stored on the shelves of a personal library, inside a closed secretary or book case or displayed for easy retrieval on a leather bound and wrapped wooden bookstand, such as this. Found on the
eastern Atlantic seacoast
of
New Hampshire
. A magnificent
post-colonial
B
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relic and bibliophile artifact. There are antiques and then there are antiques which are infused with the context of cultural significance and which tell a story and more specific and precise narrative of the way things really were, divorced from later conjecture, literary invention and mythology. A simply splendid item from the antiquarian world of of antique books. Untouched and unadulterated. Right from a
coastal New Hampshire
finely appointed estate, where it is thought to have been for many, many years. Wonderful.
CONDITION:
Good to Very Good overall antique condition.