Antique French Empire bookcase or Bibliotheque that was a bit of a mystery. Usually, when we hand-strip a large antique bookcase like this Empire bookcase, we would expect to see the French bookcase made from either mahogany or walnut and typically our old plank in house workshop would ebonize the bookcase. Not in this case, after sanding off all of the old finish, without the use of any harsh chemicals, we uncovered an antique French bibliotheque, made from a myriad of wood species and we believe it is close to 175-200-years old. The French would call this bookcase; époque, which means from the time of the Empire period and not produced afterwards. Our antique French bookcase has been freshly painted in Farrow and Ball’s Railing, while the interior was finished in Farrow and Ball’s Ammonite. All of the original solid bronze Empire hardware is silver plated. CONDITION: Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Hand-stripped and painted, minor repairs mostly to the shelves.
