Hoosier or not?

[BPoland]

Cogar, it is a metal top and looks to be original. 

[talesofthesevenseas]

I know exactly what you've got because I have one and it was assessed earlier by one of our members who was B&DAntiques who was a dealer that really knew his furniture. You've got a "baker's cabinet" circa 1890. This is the forerunner of the hoosier, which became very popular. These are often called "possum belly hoosier's" because of the shape of the lower bin drawers.
Here is mine, I did a period correct, minimally invasive restoration on mine. It still had the original finish on all but the work surface, was missing all hardware and knobs, as well as the glass. The restoration below was done entirelly with antique parts including the glass and the finish is mineral oil only, no stain:
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6351.0

[talesofthesevenseas]

Just saw you guys already pointed the way to my possum belly in your posts! 

[mart]

The one you have, is a bit fancier model than this one !!  I think this one is later and was originally painted !!  Yours is very nice Tales !!   Don`t see those much in my area !!                                                    

[talesofthesevenseas]

Mine was picked from someplace in the midwest US in the 1970s. It was in an antique dealer's inventory then they divorced and it stayed with the husband who had a furniture refinishing business. He resurfaced the work surface, then set a paint can on it and never got to the rest of it, thank goodness, so most of the original oiled finish was spared.

The husband was suffering from alzheimers and eventually passed away. The inventory went to the daughter of the couple and it all sat untouched in a warehouse for the next 20 years, which is why the wood was light colored and dry. Finally, the daughter put most of the warehouse up on Craigslist and started selling it off, which is how I found it. They had about six Hoosiers in various states of completion.

I fell in love with this one immediately, and it continues to be one of my favorite pieces of furniture and one of the most useful. It has had a lot of additions since the photo above.

I keep wineglasses in the upper cupboards, spices in the drawers, my collection of antique cookbooks are at the back of the work surface under the cupboards and the old bowl with all my functional antique kitchen gadgets is at the front of the work surface. Hubby owns rights to the bins and has his favorite treats in those. The antique apple peeler is on the opposite end from the grinder and the pie carrier sits beneath it. These look great and are super useful.

[cogar]

Cogar, it is a metal top and looks to be original. 

I can see that the top was covered in metal which looks to be more like zinc than tin.

But I am dubious as to it being original and am guessing that it was put on there by a previous owner .... because the right hand corner (see pic below) shouldn't have that gap in it .... and it might be just the picture but the right hand edge of the metal doesn't appear to be a nice straight 90 degree fold or "break" (a metal bending term).

Now the way the metal is nailed to the underside of the top might tell you if it was done by a craftsman or a reconditioner.

Given said, me thinks yours originally looked like the one Tales owns and posted picture of. 

[BPoland]

Cogar, it is a metal top and looks to be original. 

I can see that the top was covered in metal which looks to be more like zinc than tin.

But I am dubious as to it being original and am guessing that it was put on there by a previous owner .... because the right hand corner (see pic below) shouldn't have that gap in it .... and it might be just the picture but the right hand edge of the metal doesn't appear to be a nice straight 90 degree fold or "break" (a metal bending term).

Now the way the metal is nailed to the underside of the top might tell you if it was done by a craftsman or a reconditioner.

Given said, me thinks yours originally looked like the one Tales owns and posted picture of. 

So what am I looking for as far as the top being nailed on?  I love the looks of Tales cabinet but I want to know if ours was originally painted or not to put it back to its original state.  Is there a way to know if it was painted or not?  I wish there were some tags on it to identify it with.  This used to set on grandmas back porch and become the "tool" chest with about anything you can imagine thrown into it.  Thanks again for all of the help. 

[cogar]

So what am I looking for as far as the top being nailed on?

Look up under the sides and front of the top, where it protrudes out from the cabinet and there you should see where the metal is nailed to the underside. Take a couple pictures and post them.

Is there a way to know if it was painted or not?

You need to check it all over .... top, underneath, inside, outside etc., ..... and look for "un-painted" areas that should have been painted .... if it was originally painted.

Like underneath the hinges, knobs and drawer pulls.  If original it would have been painted before those items were installed.

[mart]

Look at the door hinges !! Around them there would be no excess paint around edges if originally painted !!  If painted afterward,, normally they rarely removed them from the cabinet to repaint !! Usually just went around the hinges or over them !!  Knobs would have been taken off because they are easy to do !!
Can also look around the belly for paint where it should not be,, !!

[BPoland]

Look up under the sides and front of the top, where it protrudes out from the cabinet and there you should see where the metal is nailed to the underside. Take a couple pictures and post them.

OK so the nails are actually in the face of the top, not underneath.  So at this point, I would assume that at some point this was added.  Great information to know as I want it to be as original as possible.  As for the paint, I am not sure yet.  I will definitely check that out.  Again, I will post pics when it is completed.  Thanks for all of the information.


Bryce

[talesofthesevenseas]

If it is not original to the cabinet, you might want to consider removing the zinc work surface. It isn't considered perfectly safe for food prep but it's not a big threat either. As I understand it, acidic foods like tomatoes can cause the zinc to leach low-level toxins into food.