My mothers old kitchen cabinet

[williamsg]

Does anyone know what this thing is, and what I should offer it for? I am just looking for a home for it. It has matching steel canisters and mugs in it.               Well let's see if these pictures work

[sapphire]

Oh wow!!!  Have you come to the right place........taleso fthesevenseas only just finished turning her's into a beauty!!

http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6351.0

What you have there is a hoosier cabinet (or bakers cabinet), here's a short description of what they are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier_cabinet

Tales and others will be able to advise you and point you in the right direction. Lots of info out there on them.
Great piece of history there, can't wait to see what else comes out of the barn. 

[talesofthesevenseas]

YUP! You've got a Hoosier style cabinet, yours is slightly later than mine if I'm not mistaken. What is the material on the counter top? Wood, zinc or porcelain? That will help to date it. Also check the back side to see if there is a manufacturer's sticker.

[KC]

You have quite a nice piece of history as well as family history there.  Are you sure you want to part with it?

[cogar]

Nice kitchen cabinet w/wood work surface, flour bin, spice rack and sugar jar (I think).

How about a picture of the matching canisters and mugs and showing any names or embossed lettering on them. (And I wished you had posted the pictures in the "upright" position because I was unable to upload and "rotate" them myself.)

That looks to be an "original" white cabinet and still in excellent condition, therefore I wouldn't do anything to it other than washing it off with soap & water. It should bring "top dollar" if you choose to sell it.

If the canisters and mugs are original to/with the cabinet then they are valuable in their own right, even if sold separately.

[sapphire]

Let's bring these right side up........for those that don't have laptops

[sapphire]

The rest.......

[sapphire]

A few ads for hoosiers from the 1920's...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanvintagehome/sets/72157608385212102/detail/


Great Q & A forum here for 'hoosier' owners looking for age/manufacturer, etc.......

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/hobart-in/TTQOHHCQKF92H0R1J

[williamsg]

Thank you. Now I don't have to try and rotate the pictures. I am still learning. Did I mention I hate typing. Poor typing and spelling skills. We ex engineers only do numbers. I will have to go out and look for names and numbers. I will get more pictures. Yes I am reluctant to get rid of it. My wife says we have no room for it up north but I may just put it in the garage for now as a future project. The top looks like a red piece of linoleum. There are grooves in the open area behind the counter that looks like it was made for a roll top type closure. I think the sugar jar would have been in the way. Maybe the pieces were made for different cabinets. there were also different looking frying pans in it.(get more pictures) They look more like burner covers with handles.(thank god for spell check) I should say that what we call the barn is a garage with an end piece that we lived in, when I was little. We had an out house. Thanks for all the help.

[sapphire]

Ah ha!   Knew I had come across this before.......

http://www.hoosiercabinet.com/original-ads-for-cabinets.htm

This may help date/identify your. 

[sapphire]

It's likely it did have a roll top.  I went through a few hundred pics of cabinets and many of the ones similar in looks to
yours did have a roll top enclosing the middle area...........but you have actual GLASS doors!!  Not common to find especially
today, those that did have them originally likely lost most of the glass by now.  Ask Tales......she's already been on her glass
hunt. 

[cogar]

Thanks Sapphire, my Vista OS won't let me copy it or I don't know how. If I click "quote" on the post with the picture(s) it doesn't give a reference to them either.

The top looks like a red piece of linoleum. There are grooves in the open area behind the counter that looks like it was made for a roll top type closure.

Then the counter is probably wood.

For a "roll-up" the grooves should be on either side of the opening and extend to the top and then curve toward the back of the cabinet and curve again toward the bottom. You can probably find someone to make you a "replacement" and then purchase the handle for it on-line.


 

[sapphire]

Another I'd remembered coming across.....

http://www.hoosiercabinet.com/ShowUsYourHoosier.htm

Somewhere in all the pics I've seen there were also some that had two piece 'doors' that rolled to the sides and in out the way.

[sapphire]

Thanks Sapphire, my Vista OS won't let me copy it or I don't know how. If I click "quote" on the post with the picture(s) it doesn't give a reference to them either.

Gotta love my Mac !   

[talesofthesevenseas]

Yeah, I ended up ordering wavy antique glass for my cabinet off Ebay from a seller that was removing glass from old Victorians. To have the original glass intact is great!!

The roll-up that would have gone in the groves would be just like what you see on a roll top desk. It shouldn't be difficult to get a replacement cut to size. Maybe someone here would know if that would be obtained from a cabinet maker?

The counter top is interesting. I hadn't heard of one with linoleum. I know they started with wood, like mine, then went to zinc, then to porcelain coated after finding out that zinc was unhealthy as a food prep surface. Can you see what it is made of by looking at the underside when it is in the pulled forward position?

I sure hope when your wife sees how desirable/collectible/valuable these old Hoosiers are, that it will be more than garage decor!