Vintage Beech Cantilever Accordion Sewing Box with Notions, Footed

A folding cantilever sewing box in warm beech, built with visible dovetail joinery at every case corner and raised on turned ball feet. The scissor-arm mechanism swings two tiered side compartments up and outward when opened, while the central section carries a shaped carry handle flanked by hinged, knobbed lids — five compartments in reach when expanded, a compact rectangle when closed. Brass hinges and slotted screws throughout. /p>

Romania's centrally planned furniture industry — operating under labels like ITC (Industria Lemnului) — exported well-crafted wood housewares to France, West Germany, and the UK throughout this period, and these accordion sewing boxes found their way into millions of European homes. The joinery is notably clean for a production piece: true hand-cut dovetails at every corner, not the routed approximations common on lower-end examples. This lot comes stocked with a working assortment of notions accumulated over decades of use — dressmaker shears and smaller scissors, thread spools and bobbins, embroidery floss, carded buttons, a tape measure, a Dritz needle pack, double-fold bias tape, elastic braid, a boxed thread caddy, seam tools, and a small collection of folded paper sewing patterns — all as shown in the reference images. The box arrives ready to put back to work.

CONDITION

Good and fully functional. Cantilever arms swing freely and the case folds and stands square with no remarkable damage. Light finish wear on the exterior surfaces is consistent with regular use and age.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (closed): 10" H × 19" W × 11" D
• Width Fully Open: 32"
• Each Side Compartment: 2" × 9" × 4"
• (2) Middle Compartments: 6½" × 8½" × 4"
• Construction: Beech, dovetailed corners, brass hardware, turned ball feet
• Origin: Romania — stamped "Fabriqué en Roumanie" with ITC export mark
• Includes: Assorted sewing notions as pictured
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included