Late Victorian Stained Pine & Oak Shop Counter C.1890-1900

Of desirable proportions, the pine and oak shop counter, showing its original stained surface now craquelured and distressed with age, the two piece oak top of good colour over a stained pine base having one drawer at the rear with a vacant void to the lower, and a cupboard door opening to reveal one shelf, the whole without a base and surviving from the zeniths of the Victorian period.

The counter remains in desirable original condition showing a patina and colour that is highly desirable. The staining to the two-piece top is nigh on entirely worn away as one would expect. She is structurally sound and all the hinges and fittings are original. There are chipped losses throughout as photographed. The drawer does not have its innards and the counter uses the floor as its base effectively.

When the Victorian period began most retail shops were small and the counter was the main focus of the shop whether it be for the dispensing of drugs or the ordering of drapery, for instance. Self-service stores were virtually unknown and as such goods were kept in drawers, boxes, tole-ware bins and storerooms. Customers stood in front of the counter and explained what they wanted; the shop worker then brought the items out for the customer to see. That is why you see such a healthy patina to the paint on this piece, with the wear to the top being the most prominent.

A versatile and desirable piece of decorative period furniture.