A different kind of art storage 1 1

[ESeffinga]

I'll start off by saying, if these were comic pages, or pretty much any kind of art other than what they are specifically, I wouldn't suggest this method of storage for anybody.
File this one under a specific solution to a specific need.

I've had an art collecting issue that has bugged me for quite some time. My wife and I have had a personal a frame it/hang it or we don't keep it policy in place for the last decade or so, regarding art. I've explained my thinking on the subject in the past, but suffice it to say, it's just how I've personally chosen to curate my collection, and it generally works for me. My one conundrum is drawings, and collages by one specific artist. I have many of them. A lot of them I buy. A few of them have been gifts. The artist in question is Phil Hale, as I'm sure comes as zero surprise to any that have seen my CAF gallery.

The issues have been plentiful. Obviously I'm not selling off gifts given to me by my friend. I also don't want to unload what are some terrific gems of linework. And yet it would be impossible to have the wall space to keep it all out. Especially with walls as tightly curated and covered as my own. Additionally, the pieces are all different sizes. Big, small, some aren't even rectangles, much less a standardized size. And presenting them and storing them in a simple portfolio in the closet feels anathema to my current standing on the art I own. So what to do, what to do?

For a long time I'd thought about getting a flat file and refurbishing it to make it into a coffee table for the living room. But the issue is they are just too large to feel right in the space. Way overkill for my needs.

So a couple years ago I started casually looking for other answers. I looked into type/letterpress cabinets. Industrial & small shop cabinets. Especially with an eye towards antique storage cabinets and flat file type things, just smaller. Discovered that with the industrialization of manufacturing came a whole host of these kinds of store displays and cabinetry. Mostly in the period from the mid 1800s into the early 1900s. And that's what I'd ultimately set my mind on finding. Just the right thing at the right size to house the drawings and photo collages I have.

And so last fall, I eventually came across a Victorian era spool cabinet. These were displays and furniture, created to hold thread for sewing. Some spool cabinets were made for stores, to hold product for sale, often branded with the name of the product stenciled onto the wood. Others were furniture designed for home sewing use. The piece I have is the latter, but it is very similar to the former in construction. Mine is a small mahogany "table", about 30" across, and 21" deep, and 30" tall. No frills, but good solid wood.

When I purchased the table in November, it had a piece of green felt inlaid in the top. It was obvious that this was a replacement for the original top inlay. Those were often leather, but would dry out and crack/split, so felt was an easy substitute. I've seen this a lot in "antique" furniture repair from the 1960s onward. The drawers were all raw wood, with little strips of wood tacked into them to hold spools in rows.

 

I did the work over the break between Christmas and New Year. I first removed the spool strips, so I had good clean square drawers. I re-glued a couple of the ones that felt a little loose from old dried out glue seams. Once the thing was in good working order I turned my attention to the interior.

My first consideration was that the cabinet is wood. Sure it's over 140 years old, so much of the wood sap/acid has catalyzed over that time period. But still, it's paper I'd be sticking in there. I did quite a bit of research on how to minimize issues, and ultimately decided on lining the cabinet with archival Japanese book binding fabric. I cut strips of aluminum to match every side and bottom of every drawer. This thing was hand made, so none of the sizes were exactly identical. Once I had a good lining base for every drawer, I coated it with acid free book binding paste, and adhered the book fabric to it. Then I glued that down to the wood drawer using acid free glue (not unlike good old Elmers). Then in went each side, and then the front and back liner for each drawer. One at a time.  And then I did the inside of the top, which hinges, not unlike an old school desk. I lined the bottom and sides, and also the underside of the top, though that last bit was purely decorative.

In the top, where there was originally the felt, I stripped the inlay area back, and replaced it with a very thin goat leather, which was glued down in it's place. It looks like it was always there. Fits like a glove.

And so now I have this lovely odd bit of small furniture in my living room. Like an unassuming side table or something. But the drawers slide out and look luxurious. Inside, I have sorted and arranged stacks of my Hale drawings. Many of them are on paper from the same Victorian era as this table is from. Phil lives in London, and he loves the old decaying vibe of the paper, and the history and character it imparts on the pieces he draws onto it. The drawings are really not intended to last forever as permanent things. Like a lot of art, they are in many ways, a byproduct of process. And yet they also have their purpose, and continued purpose after the original is served. not unlike the table they are now housed in.

I could have bought acid free archival photo storage boxes. And put in rice paper slipsheets. And wear gloves when I carefully took the archival boxes out of the closet, to review what was in them.
But this option feels so much more in the spirit of the work. I've been living with it since January and love that people can visit, and look through the pieces. And it is a table on which I keep a linen bound scrapbook type book, with even more of the types of pieces in the cabinet. And it can be experienced. And lived with. And shuffled around. And I don't have to go dig it all out. It has it's own home.

The top section can easily house pieces as large as 18" x 27". All 4 of the drawers are about 12" x 18" give or take.
It did interest me that it could have held comic art very easily. Though there are more safe and practical ways to do that, as I said at the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by ESeffinga
Added photo.

[wurstisart]

Very cool !

[ESeffinga]

I meant to add, that little table cost me maybe $150? I think it was less. Spook cabinets much less in demand than other flat files.

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, ESeffinga said:

I'll start off by saying, if these were comic pages, or pretty much any kind of art other than what they are specifically, I wouldn't suggest this method of storage for anybody.
File this one under a specific solution to a specific need.

I've had an art collecting issue that has bugged me for quite some time. My wife and I have had a personal a frame it/hang it or we don't keep it policy in place for the last decade or so, regarding art. I've explained my thinking on the subject in the past, but suffice it to say, it's just how I've personally chosen to curate my collection, and it generally works for me. My one conundrum is drawings, and collages by one specific artist. I have many of them. A lot of them I buy. A few of them have been gifts. The artist in question is Phil Hale, as I'm sure comes as zero surprise to any that have seen my CAF gallery.

The issues have been plentiful. Obviously I'm not selling off gifts given to me by my friend. I also don't want to unload what are some terrific gems of linework. And yet it would be impossible to have the wall space to keep it all out. Especially with walls as tightly curated and covered as my own. Additionally, the pieces are all different sizes. Big, small, some aren't even rectangles, much less a standardized size. And presenting them and storing them in a simple portfolio in the closet feels anathema to my current standing on the art I own. So what to do, what to do?

For a long time I'd thought about getting a flat file and refurbishing it to make it into a coffee table for the living room. But the issue is they are just too large to feel right in the space. Way overkill for my needs.

So a couple years ago I started casually looking for other answers. I looked into type/letterpress cabinets. Industrial & small shop cabinets. Especially with an eye towards antique storage cabinets and flat file type things, just smaller. Discovered that with the industrialization of manufacturing came a whole host of these kinds of store displays and cabinetry. Mostly in the period from the mid 1800s into the early 1900s. And that's what I'd ultimately set my mind on finding. Just the right thing at the right size to house the drawings and photo collages I have.

And so last fall, I eventually came across a Victorian era spool cabinet. These were displays and furniture, created to hold thread for sewing. Some spool cabinets were made for stores, to hold product for sale, often branded with the name of the product stenciled onto the wood. Others were furniture designed for home sewing use. The piece I have is the latter, but it is very similar to the former in construction. Mine is a small mahogany "table", about 30" across, and 21" deep, and 30" tall. No frills, but good solid wood.

When I purchased the table in November, it had a piece of green felt inlaid in the top. It was obvious that this was a replacement for the original top inlay. Those were often leather, but would dry out and crack/split, so felt was an easy substitute. I've seen this a lot in "antique" furniture repair from the 1960s onward. The drawers were all raw wood, with little strips of wood tacked into them to hold spools in rows.

 

I did the work over the break between Christmas and New Year. I first removed the spool strips, so I had good clean square drawers. I re-glued a couple of the ones that felt a little loose from old dried out glue seams. Once the thing was in good working order I turned my attention to the interior.

My first consideration was that the cabinet is wood. Sure it's over 140 years old, so much of the wood sap/acid has catalyzed over that time period. But still, it's paper I'd be sticking in there. I did quite a bit of research on how to minimize issues, and ultimately decided on lining the cabinet with archival Japanese book binding fabric. I cut strips of aluminum to match every side and bottom of every drawer. This thing was hand made, so none of the sizes were exactly identical. Once I had a good lining base for every drawer, I coated it with acid free book binding paste, and adhered the book fabric to it. Then I glued that down to the wood drawer using acid free glue (not unlike good old Elmers). Then in went each side, and then the front and back liner for each drawer. One at a time.  And then I did the inside of the top, which hinges, not unlike an old school desk. I lined the bottom and sides, and also the underside of the top, though that last bit was purely decorative.

In the top, where there was originally the felt, I stripped the inlay area back, and replaced it with a very thin goat leather, which was glued down in it's place. It looks like it was always there. Fits like a glove.

And so now I have this lovely odd bit of small furniture in my living room. Like an unassuming side table or something. But the drawers slide out and look luxurious. Inside, I have sorted and arranged stacks of my Hale drawings. Many of them are on paper from the same Victorian era as this table is from. Phil lives in London, and he loves the old decaying vibe of the paper, and the history and character it imparts on the pieces he draws onto it. The drawings are really not intended to last forever as permanent things. Like a lot of art, they are in many ways, a byproduct of process. And yet they also have their purpose, and continued purpose after the original is served. not unlike the table they are now housed in.

I could have bought acid free archival photo storage boxes. And put in rice paper slipsheets. And wear gloves when I carefully took the archival boxes out of the closet, to review what was in them.
But this option feels so much more in the spirit of the work. I've been living with it since January and love that people can visit, and look through the pieces. And it is a table on which I keep a linen bound scrapbook type book, with even more of the types of pieces in the cabinet. And it can be experienced. And lived with. And shuffled around. And I don't have to go dig it all out. It has it's own home.

The top section can easily house pieces as large as 18" x 27". All 4 of the drawers are about 12" x 18" give or take.
It did interest me that it could have held comic art very easily. Though there are more safe and practical ways to do that, as I said at the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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