Please help identify this hutch

[sjb_art]

I am thinking about selling this antique hutch but have no info on who made it or what it might be worth. When purchased 30 years ago I was told it was made in the 1890's. There are no maker's marks anywhere I can find. The only markings I see that might help identify it are stenciled markings on panels the maker used to build the drawer bottoms and back of the cabinet. These were obviously from wood shipping crates. The markings are H.C. Hansen, Holstein IA, and J. Roberts, Sterling Nebraska. Maybe these crate markings might help. The cabinet is 92" high and 38 1/2" wide and is on small casters. Any help on identifying who made it and what it might be worth would be greatly appreciated.

[mart]

Would be a nice craftsman style were it not for that top crest !!  How is that top attached ?? I think it was an addition from another piece of furniture !!  Does not go with this cabinet !!  Offhand it looks like it was a footboard from a bed !! Think if it were upside down !!  If it were made to go with the hutch it likely would have had side pieces to match !! Its only on the front and is a totally different style !!

[bigwull]

to the rest of the free world....hutches are for keeping, bunny wabbits in....but in America...you keep books and bric a brac in them.....sometimes i wonder.... ...as for the top piece...it should burn well,....for it spoils the whole look of the little wabbits hoose....

[KC]

Wullie behave.  We have more to life than rabbits on this side of the pond! 


Can you please post a picture of the side of a drawer that has been pulled out?  Also any close up of hinges/hardware.

Something about it is making me think an imported piece.

[greenacres]

Have you gotten up on a foot stool to see how the top is made. Just curious if you could get a picture of the top, so we can see if its an add on.

[mart]

Sure looks like it is to me !! Picture that top piece upside down and at the foot of a bed !! Or as the back piece on a sideboard !!  It looks a bit different color too !! Different style from the case !! Looks like a craftsman style except for the pulls !!  Not sure about them !!

[sjb_art]

OK, here are some more detail pics of the wabbit hutch. The top piece is attached with two dowels and I agree that it is a different color and wood type. I attached detail pics of the drawer inside and out. Simple nailed joints. The two pics of the inside of the top cabinet show the hinges, shelf adjusting mechanism, and the packing crate stencils that would lead me to believe this was made somewhere in the midwest. The bottom cabinet inside pic shows some of the construction details and one of the lock mechanisms.
Thanks for the replies and help    Any ideas on value?

[sjb_art]

Ooops, it only lets me post four pics at a time so here are the other two inside shots.
Thanks!

[mart]

I don`t think those are packing crates !! I think those are the wood suppliers stamps !! Perhaps he bought the wood at two different places !! That's why only the name and town are stamped on it !!

[sjb_art]

I looked up HC Hansen and J Roberts and it appears both of them were suppliers of staple goods in the late 1800's. Not sure why the builder would not have sanded the stencils off in the finishing process. Maybe this cabinet was built by someone who never intended to sell it and did not care. I like the shelf adjustment mechanism in this thing. I never saw anything like it before. Very clever 
Oh, and when I pulled the top piece off I noticed that it had the same HC Hansen stencil on the back. Strange! I was willing to agree that this piece may not belong on this cabinet, but now, I'm not so sure.

[bigwull]

Wullie behave.  We have more to life than rabbits on this side of the pond! 


Can you please post a picture of the side of a drawer that has been pulled out?  Also any close up of hinges/hardware.

Something about it is making me think an imported piece.

..."We have more to life than rabbits on this side of the pond"......

and long may it stay there.......

[mart]

You run into many odd things with furniture !!  No,, different wood says the top didn`t originally go with this hutch,, but its possible that whoever built the cabinet simply made use of something he already had and added it !!  They recycled too !!

[bigwull]

I,m confused!!.....one minute..its a hutch....but now you.re calling it a cabinet..make yer mind up,its either one or t,other,

[mart]

What I am seeing tells me this was not made in late 1800`s,, more like 1940`s !!

[bigwull]

i agree with Mart,on the date,..the ironmongery,..is,nt late 1800,s,the large slot headed screws are machine made,the lock and hinges are 1940,s/50,s, the drawers have no dovetails, that i can see,...they look like butt joints,...its made of oak,..the crown or headpiece has been added at a later date,..had it been there from the beginning, then..it would not have been fitted with dowels....