Many of the typical Victorian hat/coat racks that you find in antique shops these days are mass-produced, utilitarian pieces that are fairly unforgettable. This particular one features a projecting Benjamin Franklin as the centerpiece and the entire piece is carved exceptionally well, not just the bust.  Someone took some time with this one and the seller is attributing it to the shop of Thomas Brooks.  The rack was likely made mid-1870s for the Centennial celebration.

Thomas Brooks had apparently incorporated Franklin into some of his pieces at the time, but I don’t know that the presence of Ben and the quality of carving is enough to tie it to Brooks.  As you can see from this bookcase which also incorporated Franklin, his appearance in furniture was not entirely rare.  You can see that the two “Bens” were carved in different manners, most probably by different carvers.

Regardless of origin, this is a better-than-your-average coat/hat rack.  More at the listing.

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Aloha. Eh, howzit braddahs. Da kine. Wot, you neva kno Hawaii get planny Victorian furnicha over dis side of da kai? You tink we all jus set one okole on grass mats or wot? Den wop yo jaw cuz we get choke. An da best kine all made out o da mos primo kine wood eva, Koa. So I goin foa giv you da scoops.

What you just read is written in pidgin as provided to me by my brother, currently residing in Hawai’i.  Pidgin is a simplified language designed to facilitate trade when the involved parties do not have a language in common.  In Hawai’i it evolved for the Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipinos, Hawaiians and the Americans to all be able to communicate.

Translation: Hello, so you didn’t think Hawaii had Victorian furniture all the way across the ocean? you think we just sit our butts down on grass mats?  Well you’re wrong, we’ve got a lot of furniture and some is made out of one of the finest woods, koa and I’m going to introduce you to some of it.

Royal Hawaiian Furniture

The masterpiece above was made by Chun Moke, a Chinese immigrant, for David Kalakaua, the last reigning king in the kingdom of Hawai’i who served from 1874 to 1891.  I was impressed by the length of David’s birth name:

David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua

The cabinet above may have been the one displayed at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889.  The exposition catalog described the cabinet as “1 Koa Wardrobe, made for His Majesty the King from Koa trees grown in Iolani Palace Grounds.”

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James D. Julia is having their 21st annual summer sale and there is much in there for Victorian furniture fanatics. I’ve created a sampling of items that visitors of this site would be interested in below. Hover your mouse over the thumbnail for a quick synopsis or click through to the item for more detailed information. These items will be sold Tuesday the 26th.

Note: Thumbnails will no longer appear as items are sold.