Globe Wernicke, The Purchase and Dimensions

Oak or mahogany

First, you have the option to choose between oak or mahogany. Within these types of wood, you can also vary in color — this can be adjusted to be darker or lighter during the restoration process. In the Antique Warehouse, there are always various setups in these two types of wood, allowing you to make a choice and let your feelings speak.

The type of cabinet

Three types have been made in the past:

• The “Standard” style — most common
• The “Universal” style
• The “Ideal” style — the more elaborately crafted cabinet

The setup

Each Globe Wernicke cabinet starts at the ground with a base. These can be equipped with a drawer, or you can choose a base without a drawer.

The depths: outer depth 27 cm, 29 cm, 35 cm, and the deepest 45 cm. It should be noted that the depths of 35 cm and 45 cm are very rare.

Within these four depths, there are different heights:

It is possible to assemble a cabinet from one depth, but a combination of different depths is also quite feasible.

You can build the cabinet up to 10 elements high, or keep it low and see it more as a sideboard.

The restoration and delivery

The Globe Wernicke elements come from various purchasing locations, from different homes and offices. This means: treated differently over the last hundred years, with different light exposure. This creates a colorful whole of diverse colors.

In our restoration workshop, we first restore the elements by ensuring the door operates smoothly — the door that disappears into the cabinet when lifted. Next comes color matching, so that the cabinet forms a cohesive whole.

The finishing is still done in the traditional way: with shellac, polish, and finally a layer of wax. Once the glass is cleaned, the cabinet is ready for delivery.

We personally place the cabinet inside your home. This is done on a flat surface to allow the windows to operate freely. In an old house with an uneven or sloping floor, we will level it with wood.

Globe Wernicke Bookcase

Every cabinet is unique, has a history, has its own story. Where and when was it sold, who bought it? Besides this story, the system is still unique for this time.

A Globe Wernicke cabinet in oak or mahogany can be completely customized to your liking: low versus high, in different depths, with corner elements, a drawer in the base, a secretary part, a panel instead of glass, faceted glass or stained glass — and spans of a door are also among the possibilities. It is no coincidence that Globe Wernicke & Co. already referred to the cabinet as “The Elastic Bookcase”.

A later expansion is, of course, also possible. Due to intensive contacts with the United Kingdom, it is almost always possible to acquire the parts you desire.

Due to all these characteristics of history, simplicity, and flexible construction options, the Globe Wernicke bookcase has grown into an internationally sought-after object.

Globe Wernicke — always complete but never finished.

Through years of experience, the Antique Warehouse has built up expertise that guarantees we always sell genuine original Globe Wernicke parts. The fact that you assemble your cabinet from unrestored parts with us underscores this.

The Antique Warehouse always has multiple setups in the showroom, so you can get a good impression of the composition you have in mind.