Edwardian Era Quarter Sawn Oak Convertible Bar Cart & Game Table, 1910s-1920s

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Antique Oak Convertible Bar Cart & Game Table | Edwardian Era, c. 1910s–1920s
Quarter-sawn oak furniture with this level of … Read more Antique Oak Convertible Bar Cart & Game Table | Edwardian Era, c. 1910s–1920s
Quarter-sawn oak furniture with this level of mechanical ingenuity is precisely what the Edwardian period did better than any era before or since. Between roughly 1900 & 1925, British & Continental furniture makers responded to the excesses of the Victorian age by stripping ornament down to clean lines & honest materials — while simultaneously pouring their craft energy into clever, dual-purpose forms that made a piece work harder for its owner. The convertible serving cart with a reversible game table top was one of the finest expressions of that philosophy, & examples with their original mechanisms fully intact have become increasingly difficult to source.
This cart is built in quarter-sawn oak — recognizable by its tight, ribbon-like medullary ray grain — finished in a warm tone that has deepened beautifully over a century of age. The top tray slides cleanly free of its frame, flips to reveal a full green baize game surface set within the original oak border, & locks back into place with brass hardware that remains solid & functional. Four original cast casters keep the piece mobile across any floor, & the lower shelf offers genuine storage utility whether this lives as a bar cart, a library trolley, or an occasional side table.
British makers of this period — houses like Heal’s, Maple & Co., & any number of skilled regional cabinet shops — produced these convertible carts in relatively limited numbers given the joinery skill the sliding & reversing mechanism demanded. That mechanical complexity is precisely why so few survive in working condition today. This one does, completely & cleanly, which puts it in a category of its own among comparable pieces currently on the market.

—Dimensions—
Folded/Closed Position:
•Height: 28.5-inches
•Width: 24-inches
•Depth: 15.5-inches

Unfolded/Open Position:
•Height: 28.5-inches
•Width: 31.5-inches
•Depth: 24-inches See less