Relevant categories: Chairs,Seating and Chairs,Bookcases
( Above Photo: Regency Library Ladder English Mahogany Book Study Furniture )
Library steps are necessary to reach books on higher shelves in a space with large bookcases. They are either available as original antiques or reproductions of some old items. Besides reaching the topmost bookshelves, they are also great for retrieving items from tall kitchen cupboards.
Some library steps can also serve as a writing table, library table, or chair. These are called metamorphic library steps. As a desk, this furniture piece can also be called a mechanical desk.
( Above Photo: Victorian Library Steps Mahogany Step Ladder )
Library steps first appeared in the mid-1700s in offices and private libraries of European nobility. Since bourgeoise houses had an increasing number of specialized rooms, spaces like the library had to be used more efficiently.
Therefore, designers build libraries with high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. To reach the topmost shelves, furniture makers designed movable library steps and added them to the vast array of domestic furniture.
( Above Photo: Victorian Library Steps in Mahogany Ladder Step Bookcase )
In the send half of the 1700s, several talented cabinetmakers from Germany worked in the French court. Examples of the designers include David Roentgen, Jean-Henri Riesener, and Jean-Francois Oeben.
These designers originated some of the most finely-made, exquisitely-finished mechanical furniture in Louis XV and Louis XVI’s courts. But David Roentgen distinguished himself by making unusual furniture, thus becoming Marie Antoinette’s master cabinetmaker.
As the designs from France made their way across the English Channel, English cabinetmakers copied and improved on them. In the process, they designed standout mechanical furniture.
Designers soon realized the importance of having portable furniture. When British army officers went to war, they carried four-poster beds, dining tables, sofas, and chairs to maintain home comforts.
So, the designers made more portable furniture pieces that reflected that period’s style. The soldiers could also flat pack the furniture and easily transport them to their destinations. One of the effects of the collapsible furniture design is the metamorphic library steps.
Having made high-quality campaign furniture, prominent designers like Thomas Sheraton designed certain pieces for use in the home. In 1774, Robert Campbell patented stools, chairs, and tables with library steps.
However, it was not until the 1820s that the metamorphic library chair because popular. One of the first designs was by Rudolf Ackermann in 1811 and Gillows in 1834. While some library chairs may exist as antique originals, many are reproductions of the early designs.
( Above Photo: Victorian Library Steps Ladder Mahogany Book Case )
How you use library steps depends on the design used to make them. Some library steps have a static design. Others are flexible and can serve different purposes. A good example is the metamorphic library steps, which you can put to the following uses:
Practical step ladder when folded out
An occasional extra chair
A side-table or writing table
A library table
The Bottom Line
Library steps are essential at home for retrieving books from the highest shelves on a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. You may also use them to get items from high kitchen cupboards. If created in a metamorphic design, library steps are highly functional. So, you can put them to many functions.
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