Globe Wernicke Bookshelf

Q: Can you give me any information about an oak bookshelf-desk I inherited? It has 3 separate glass-front shelves and a unit that is a desk with a fall front. The parts are joined together with metal bands. The glass doors lift up and slide back.

A: The Globe-Wernicke Company invented stacking bookcases, which they called “elastic bookcases.” The bookcases could be customized by stacking the shelves in various ways. The company patented the “equalizer,” a method of opening the glass doors by sliding them back instead of swinging them out. The Globe Files Company was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1882 and the Wernicke Company was established in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1893. Globe bought the Wernicke Company in 1899 and became Globe-Wernicke Company. The name was changed to Globe-Weis after Weis Manufacturing was purchased in 1963. Globe-Weis became part of Cardinal Brands in 2000 and is still in business. Globe-Wernicke bookcase-desks like yours with 4 sections, a base, and top sell for about $750 or more. The highest prices are for those in good condition with the original labels intact on the back of each section. Older bookcases with wavy glass are more valuable.