Antique Chest of Draws

[mattsmirk]

[img]Good day esteemed knowledgeable ones..

(OK enough groveling)

I inherited this lovely chest of draws from my late mother.  Before giving it away I was wondering if anyone here might let me know if it is worth selling.
I don't know too much about antiques (although my Mum enjoyed collecting - which leads me to believe that this might have some worth) and don't have transport to carry it about for quotes.

Thank you for your time.

-Matt

[hosman321]

This is a wonderful chest Matt! Don't give it away, it's not garbage and looks to have some good age. 100+ years. We may need a few more pictures to help determine it's age, which will affect value. Can you please post the following pictures, if possible:
Pull out one of the drawers and take a picture of the side of the drawer to show how it is put together
A closer picture of the keyholes on the front of the drawers.
A picture of the locking mechanism from inside the drawer, if it is visible.
Also, does the top lift up? Can you take a picture with it opened? This looks more like a washstand/commode now that I think of it.

[mattsmirk]

Thanks for the reply hosman321,

I have one of those pictures now, the rest I shall take this evening. The top does lift up (pic attached).
There is a slight crack of the wood (visible in photo) on the closed lid.

Thanks again,
Matt

[CuriousCollector]

That thing is wayyy cool!  Sorry, can't help on price/value, but it's a pretty interesting piece!

[mariok54]

That is certainly well worth keeping, or selling, and not giving away.....IMO

I can see what you were thinking Hosman, before the new pics were posted that was a possibility. I am wondering whether that was intended as a 'secret' cubbyhole, and I say secret as it would only need a large doily or something to hide the keyhole.

[mattsmirk]

Well  -there is a secret draw at the bottom  

I have a feeling that this piece of furniture was my grandmothers in fact.

I would love to keep it to be honest, but unfortunately I'm moving to a smaller house next week and have no space to store it. So if I'm going to sell I need to move fast. Any advice on this front would be most appreciated (I'm in London, UK).

Thanks again.

[mariok54]

Well, if you are planning to sell it, let us know! I have no idea of its value, but I do like it, and I might be interested (although I live in Derbyshire), so will do some homework.

The pity of it is, if you are moving next week you have left it a wee bit too late. My advice would be to find a small corner for it, even for just a few weeks. If you try to sell it in a hurry, you may get as little as £20 - £40. Chests of drawers do still sell well, and it could easily be a £100+ item (hard to tell much from the pics though). If it is possibly a one-off piece, that's not been messed about with, then you could maybe even double that, who knows?

[mart]

The top may have been lined at one time and used a hiding place for jewelry.