Can anyone advise on reassembling large glass-fronted bookcase, est. 1930's?

[Spitnpolish]

... It is wonderfully made, fitted together with dowels and inset bolts. But we cannot see how rear pieces were meant to be attached! There appear to be no fixings of any kind, except for a groove along the top surface of the base, at the back, into which fit the tongues of the 3 back pieces. Nothing to attach it to the sides, centre dividers or top (see below) though. The few screwholes we found seem to have been made by later owners and it's not clear what they served for. We have just about managed to align all other pieces except that the keys and locks don't seem quite to match. There are a couple of pieces of random square-section dowelling which might have been attached along the rear between rear panels and top. Pic's attached.

At the moment the rear panels are attached only at the base and there is a 3/4" gap at the back between the top of the rear panels and the bottom of the top piece (fig's 1, 2).

Any ideas about date/provenance? I'm just guessing '20's-'30's. And what about the brass rails attached above and below
the glass on the inside of each door (fig. 4). Curtains/blinds??

All suggestions welcome!

 

[Cubist]

To begin with I wasn't convinced it was a bookcase but the realised it is not very deep. The pattern is more reminiscent of an armoire and these were used predominantly to house clothing but were also used to store a wide assortment of other items - I've seen similar that shred stuffed birds for example. The brass rails on the rear of the doors would have supported curtains that served two primary purposes, one practical and the other aesthetic. From an aesthetic point of view they would hide the jumble of of products inside, perhaps from prying eyes - if it were a bookcase then maybe the owners Penthouse collection? - and also to provide a more pleasing external appearance to the cabinet in-toto. In a practical sense such curtains were also used to protect the contents from the bleaching effects of sunlight and sometimes to ward off dust and grime carried in the general atmosphere.

Do you have and could you share some photos of the the rear face of the cabinet backs AND in particular the square section dowlings. If these have a hole in them somewhere along the centre line these dowels may have been used as 'turnbuckles' which would rotate on a screw to allow one end to wedge into a slot or rebate in the neighbouring panel to wedge and lock the rear them in place. Would the screw holes you have found roughly align with any such rebates or slots?

Many antique sellers often find that the keys to such cabinets and boxes have long been lost but many of them will keep a stash of old keys from which that they can select a compatible pattern to seemingly 'complete' the item - this can be a final convincer for many unwary buyers. The locks though are usually fairly simple and a little work with a key file can often get the available keys to work effectively. If not, then it's a fairly simple task to buy suitable blanks and make new keys. If you do this though make sure to buy the blanks from a reputable supplier as many will manufacture the blanks using 'pot metal' which is too soft and brittle to stand more than a couple of turns in the lock.

Regarding age and provenance. Its very hard to say but the bevelled glass suggests no earlier than say the 19th Century and the locks are also compliant with having been manufactured during that period - interestingly the Key shown has more of an art-nouveau/deco feel that could imply mid 20th Century. On balance I would pick it at perhaps Edwardian and of English manufacture. If you remove the locks you may find a manufactures mark and maybe even a date that might confirm or refute that conclusion.