This smart, vintage barristers’ bookcase has had us scratching our heads a little. It’s obviously very similar to a Globe Wernicke and even has the same patented mechanism to lift and fold back the glass doors but we know that Wernicke bookcases are most commonly stacking. Furthermore, we can find no other like this documented so can’t definitively attribute to GW. It’s an antique enigma! No matter though, this is a well-crafted piece regardless, a single unit comprised of three graduated shelves, each featuring the lift-up / slide-back glass door. It arrived with us in a sorry state and has undergone an impressive glow-up with new brass knobs, fixed mechanisms and the oak exterior surfaces stripped and restored. The lower shelf has fixed dividers in place and 12 inch vinyl slots nicely in here. We love the decorative grape vines on either side at the bottom, molded in Bakelite. An old-fashioned piece that will add instant vintage warmth to the home whichever room it goes in.
