Description
Stunning Victorian Mahogany Antique Library Steps / Bed Steps
Dating from ca. 1850 this Stunning 19th Century Victorian Mahogany Antique Library Steps / Bed Steps have three tooled leather lined steps with moulded edges, two having hinged lids and one being a pull out drawer. This fine antique stands on shaped bracket feet, has beautiful charm, character and has aged to a warm Mahogany shade with a striking grain, good patina, is in very good condition and has been beautifully cleaned using a traditional form of wax finishing.
Approximate Dimensions are:
Height: 61 cm / 24 inches
Width: 46 cm / 18 inches
Depth: 71 cm / 28 inches
Ref No: 08459
Please click on antique furniture image for larger photo.
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What are Antique Library Steps?
Antique bed steps and Antique Library Steps were a Victorian invention usually with a dual purpose. In the bedroom, as beds were quite tall with large stuffed mattresses, you would need these steps to climb into bed, especially as people were shorter in the 19th Century. Quite often they would have a lift up lid with a concealed porcelain commode built into them. Antique Library Steps were used for the help to reach top shelf on a large Victorian bookcase in a library. Each step would usually have a moulded edge with tooled leather insert for extra grip when climbing on them. On library steps, the central step pulls out and has a hinged lid which when opened reveals a useful storage area rather than a commode. Both types of antique steps would stand on four turned feet and be built using Mahogany timbers. Occasionally you can see Library steps in the Metamorphic Chair design constructed from Oak, consisting of a small folding staircase that can be transformed into a chair, first built in the mid 18th century for private libraries and offices. These rooms often had high ceilings and floor to ceiling bookshelves, so movable library steps were created as a form of domestic furniture.
