One of the delights of antique furniture as with all practical antiques is that it is a tangible link with the past. Sitting at a 1700´s desk, it is easy to imagine an earlier owner leaning on the same surface, struggling with an important letter. An ink stain on a well-rubbed edge adds to the sense of continuity.Whatnot
Whatnot is the British term for a tiered stand of rectangular shelves used to display ornaments and objects of art. The first recorded design for one is in the cost book for 1800 of a well-known firm of furniture makers, Gillows. They were made with as many as six surfaces or as few as three, and are as helpful today as during the 1800s.
