Posted 9 years ago
R.Lynch
(1 item)
Of all my antiques, this is my favorite. The Dr. who owned this medical cabinet lived and practiced in Charleston West Virginia. I have a newspaper picture of his office just prior to WWI that includes this cabinet in the picture. On the back is a mirror that is cracked with an old label saying that is was cracked in a fire set by German spies in 1917. There are also scorch marks on the front. On the top are some kind of carved animal that I have always called weasels. The Dr.'s name, by the way, was Shawkey. He lived to 101 and was well known in Charleston and the State. I have always wanted to know the manufacturer of this piece, date, and what those carved animals really are.
Great piece. I love how it is filled with medical bottles.
Hi there.... The manufacturer of this cabinet was W.D. Addison in Indianapolis. I have one exactly like it. Mine belonged to my Great grandfather, Dr Allen Pierson, who practiced for >50 years in Stinesville and Spencer, Indiana. I still have many of his old medical instruments in the base. I've got a little folder of Dr Allen with pictures and other pieces in one of the drawers. It now holds my inkwell collection - which started, oddly enough, with Dr. Allen's desktop prescription writing inkwell and my great grandmother Emma's parlor set. We just had this restored last year - it was in pretty tough shape. Dr. Allen bought it new in 1897 if that helps at all. The WD Allison company went out of business years ago, but there is a bit of information on the internet. Mine too has these carvings on the upper supports. I've never seen anything like them... we always called them griffins ... but, that's just something that we made up. If anyone has any additional information, please post it.... I would love to get more details - I have no idea what the carvings might depict or mean.
I can post pictures if someone can give me a quick tutorial on how to upload images.
Sorry about the confusion... its by W.D. Allison of Indianapolis... The plaque on the front of mine is brass and a bit "aged". The company made physicians and surgeons cabinets for many years.
Thank you for the comment. Love to know more. fbeye@cfl.rr.com
Its great to see this interest in the old medical cabinets. We had ours refinished - it had suffered a bit in the many transitions over the years - and, it is a beautiful thing. It houses my inkwell collection now. That little accumulation started with my great-grandfathers desk inkwell and great-grandmothers parlor set. Then, it got a little bit out of control. Anyway, I'm not interested in selling our cabinet but its great to see that there is interest out there. For us, its an anchor to a past of service. I'm the 5th Dr. Pierson. My daughter is the 6th. We're planning on it being in the family for some time to come.