Painted Pine Country Store Cabinet, St. Louis Trade Provenance, c. 1885–1910

A late Victorian, Eastlake-influenced country store or apothecary-style cabinet in original blue-green paint, built as a single unit in solid softwood pine around 1885–1910. The upper section is a double-door glazed hutch with arched glass panes and a blue-painted interior fitted with two fixed shelves; the lower section carries two full-width drawers over a left cupboard door and two small stacked drawers, all above a scalloped skirt base. Cast iron bail pulls with pressed decorative backplates run throughout, and the back is formed from two solid wood panels. Layers of earlier paint show through honest surface wear, and roughly 95% of the original painted surface remains intact.

The drawer boxes tell the working history: each is constructed from repurposed wooden shipping crates, with stenciled trade marks still legible on interior members.

St. Louis functioned as the great inland wholesaling hub of the late 19th century, supplying merchandise, fixtures, and shop furniture to retailers throughout the West via rail and river freight. Millinery and dry goods were a major category, and shipping crates stamped with supplier marks were routinely broken down and rebuilt into shelving, counters, and cabinetry by store owners and local carpenters. This piece captures that economy directly — a shop fixture assembled in part from the very crates that once carried its stock.

• Interior stencil "I B R M CO / ST. LOUIS, MO" on a structural member
• Interior stencil "Blk Fur Felt / Cayng" — black fur felt millinery supply marking
• Marks consistent with a St. Louis commercial supply chain serving mercantile trade, c. 1885–1910

Original unrestored paint at this level of integrity is the primary draw for country furniture and folk art buyers, and the documented commercial stencils add genuine documentary weight. The repurposed crate-wood drawer construction is a real period detail — the kind of working-class utility that collectors of primitive commercial furniture actively seek.

CONDITION

Good with age-appropriate wear throughout; sturdy and structurally sound as a one-piece cabinet. Original blue-green painted surface is roughly 95% intact with expected loss, scuffing, and earlier paint layers showing through at the edges. Cornice molding shows age-appropriate cracking at the top corners.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 67 1/4" H × 25" W × 18 1/2" D
• Counter Top Height: 40 3/4"
• Lower Cupboard Storage: 16" × 12"
• Upper Shelf Heights: 6 3/4", 7", and 8 1/2"
• Upper Interior: 2 fixed shelves
• Drawers: 4 (with brass and iron handles)
• Back: 2 solid wood panels
• Materials: Solid pine, glass
• Construction: One piece; drawer boxes built from repurposed shipping crates