Solid oak cylinder cabinet

[Zenger]

I recently picked up a humble (but heavy!) solid oak cylinder cabinet; the price was right, and I was happy to have it because all my other cylinder cabinets are mahogany. A few questions:

1. Can anyone say with confidence who made this cabinet?

2. Does anyone make and/or sell replacement pegs?

3. Any theories on what happened to the original pegs?

Thanks!

[outune]

Hi- I believe it was made by Columbia-- but don't take that to the bank- I know others here will know for sure-

Justin Schwab-- JAS Antiques -- https://jasantiques.com/ -- sells the cardboard pegs. He usually has some on Ebay- I just looked and he has no listings-- There's a note in his store that he is away until Aug 4th. The last time I saw the pegs on Ebay, he was charging $75 for 100 ppd.

Pegs got removed by owners so that the drawers could be used for clothes, socks, papers, etc--- I've had numerous cabinets over the years and only a few still had original pegs inside.

You've got a nice cabinet that will look great once it is restored-

To remove remnants of the old cardboard pegs, use a 1 ⅝" hole saw-- If using the drill by hand, run it in reverse and it will ream out the old cardboard without cutting deeply-- If you have a drill press and can accurately set the depth, you can use the holesaw in forward mode-- just don't cut any deeper than the existing grooves or you'll bore through the bottom of the drawer.

Hope this helps-
Brad Abell

[Zenger]

Thanks, Brad! That's all very helpful. I think, though, that I won't be able to restore the pegs, because the bottom of each drawer has buckling in it that would have to be fixed first. The photo is of the third drawer, which is by far the worst, but even though the buckling is not as severe in the other drawers, it is there to the extent that I cannot store encased cylinders in the for fear that I will not be able to open the drawer with them in there. This has already happened to me a couple of times, and I was very fortunate in that I eventually managed to get the drawers open again without damaging any cylinders, but for now I am storing the cases in them lying down. Eventually I will glue down the warped wood, but I will probably not replace the pegs -- I think that would be too much work. I am fine with storing the cylinders in their cases; I found the cabinet at an estate sale and it was very inexpensive.

[Shawn]

Brad,

I mean no disrespect, but there is no catalog-based evidence that this cabinet was made by the Columbia Phonograph Company.

However, I do believe there is good evidence it was made by Douglas. Here is a 1906 ad from the Talking Machine World that shows a cabinet that is very similar, and of the same make as the one in this post.

Hope that helps.

Shawn

[outune]

Thanks Shawn-- No offense taken- As I mentioned, don't take my thoughts to the bank-- I knew someone would be able to shed accurate light on it-- I've had two of those cabinets over the years that were speculated to be Columbia by the sellers when I bought them. I appreciate that you have access to original catalogs that can give us some definitive answers--

To Zenger-- If the lamination on your drawer bottoms is beyond repair, you can purchase ¼" birch plywood and make replacements. I have made numerous shelves and drawer bottoms using the birch. It works well.

Brad Abell

[phonogfp]

I suspect the cabinet is a Herzog No.703, as seen in this ad from The Talking Machine World (top row, second from left).

George P.

Herzogcabinets.jpg (145.34 KiB) Viewed 330 times

[FellowCollector]

Thanks for sharing that Herzog cabinet ad, George! Very helpful to those of us who have various Herzog cylinder cabinet models (like me!). I could be wrong, but it looks like the Herzog 703 cabinet accommodates 25 cylinders per drawer (5 x 5) whereas the 702 model appears to accommodate 30 cylinders per drawer (6 x 5). Both models have 4 drawers and the cabinet design appears similar between them. My guess is that the subject cabinet is a Herzog 702. Only a guess though since the subject cabinet accommodates 30 cylinders per drawer. It's really strange (to me anyway) that a lower model number Herzog cabinet (702) is higher priced and accommodates more cylinders than a higher model number cabinet. Thanks again for sharing!

Doug

[Shawn]

Brad,

Most really good content for catalogs and trade journals is available on the internet. I would encourage everyone to take a look. An example is this site, where the Talking Machine World can be found.
https://archive.org/
The Talking Machine World was referenced by myself and George for these images.

And George, an interesting point. Is the "name" of a cabinet the manufacturer or the marketer? When sold by the Douglass Company, this was a "Perfection" cabinet. When sold (and presumably manufactured) by the Herzog Art Company, it was a Herzog. Much in the same way a Maytag washing machine is manufactured by Whirlpool in the same factory, with the same parts as a Whirlpool washing machine. But when sold, they are a Maytag, and a Whirlpool. Lots of other examples of this practice both today, and in 1906.

Shawn

[m_nakamura]

Where do you find these cabinets? I think my mom might spring for one since they look nice.

[JerryVan]

Lots of other examples of this practice both today, and in 1906.

Shawn

Like just about everything that's made in China.