The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have been offered this cabinet. Does any one think its real? It looks like two cabinets made into one to me. Thanks for any help.

I'd have to see more of it to be certain, though some very odd pieces were made in the late 19th C. Check carefully for any odd seams or evidence of alteration.

I'm certain that this was a sheet music cabinet, aside from the drawers it looks like a typical example. It also appears to have been stripped and refinished- in my opinion not very well.

Definitely a sheet music cabinet. Phonograph base cabinets almost never have a spell or gallery on the back and/or sides of the top, and seldom stand up on spindly legs because of the weight. Also, the tops are proportional to the type of phonograph the cabinet is intended to hold (i.e., Victrola bases are deeper than wide, cylinder bases wider than deep, and external horn disc bases are square). Also, there is usually some provision to hold the records: dividers for discs, pegs or clips for cylinders (which are usually in drawers or trays),

I'm tending to think that it was made this way- it look as if the grain pattern continues from the door to the drawers