Happy #whatsitwednesday!
Pictured is a table sent to us by a reader. It has stumped us too! We are asking for your help in its identification. The owner told us it is a folding table with sides that fan out. The pedestal in the center has wheels. It was found in an old store building that had an opera house on the third floor and a drugstore on the first floor. Later there was a clothing and general store on the second floor.
The pictured item is 20 1/2 by 20 1/2 inches, by 42 inches high.
If you have your own whatsit, our editors can include it in a future post. Please send an email to editor@kovels.com and attach a clear picture, the size and any markings. Hopefully, we will be able to identify it for our readers!
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Photo: A Kovels Reader
16 responses to “Happy #whatsitwednesday!”
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I am the one that owns this item. The 4 sides do not go any higher than the pictue shows. I had someone tell me it was used to display full skirted dresses so the ladies could see what the dress would look like with put over a hoop slip. A mannedquinw would be set on the top square area. That is the closest anyone has come to what I think would be a good idea, but I still don’t know.
I think it’s a rack that a servant used to press the newspaper before bringing it to the Master’s/Executive’s office in the morning. The early papers would smear ink on your fingers, so a wealthy guy would have a servant literally iron the paper, to set the ink. Each sheet could be pressed then hung over a slat, then the paper re-assembled when finished to deliver upstairs. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
Thank you for the great responses! We agree with those that thought it was used for display and appreciate the firsthand account by redlemon65 confirming its practical use.
Yes, I agree with patty132 and Tray: this looks like it could be a display rack for ties, scarves and such. Some could be hung and some piled neatly on the fold-out flat sides. I waited to comment because I wanted to read Hookman’s answer first, and as usual, was rewarded!
This is a tough one, and I’ve never seen an exact piece like this. But, because it was a pharmacy/Retail store I think it must be for display or preparing something to sell. My best guess is for displaying rolls of ribbon. The long and perfect space might match spools of ribbon or even heavy thread of some kind. All seem to be of even spacing to.
The other thing I’ve seen similar to this was used to clean curtains/drapes, but this table isn’t quite big enough for that. Maybe for drying something else, that was used in the pharmacy? Herbs, plants of some kind, etc?
There was a little store in Arkansas that had two of these type of tables – they folded up for storage and were used when needed for merchandise. The wheels made for easy moving and could use one leaf or both as needed. The owner was very proud of them and was able to increase his display area as needbe.
is it a trellis table ?
The guesses are slow in coming….makes it difficult for me to ride someone’s coattails. But ride I must…..patty132 seems on the right path. My first inclination was that it’s a drying table, but the pedestal is too fancy for such a utilitarian purpose.
This is an item that was brought over, in the 17th Century, from the old country, specifically Deutschland (Germany), where it was referred to as a Kinder Tinder (child tender). You sit the small child on the flat tabletop and raise the sides to keep the child out of trouble, and especially to keep the child out of Mom’s hair as she goes about her daily chores. It has wheels so the harried housewife can attach her apron strings to it, and pull it around behind her, thus keeping the child nearby and since the child is always within Mom’s reach, the child remains relatively quiet, easy to feed or shush.
As modern inventions made the housewife’s workload less formidable, the Kinder Tinder was replaced, on the one hand, by the PlayPen, which performed the exact same function, but in a less restrictive way, and on yet another hand, by the Stroller, which released the apron strings and allowed the Mom to guide the Tinder from in front of her, which of course, gave the Mom the ability to do that which all Moms love to do the most, as they stroll through the neighborhood, present their beautiful child, face first, to all of her adoring acquaintances.
It’s a laundry drying rack
Drying table for pasta; that would be some big linguini , but I would think it could be used to dry woolen sweaters; all though it appears that the sides can’t hinge up to the level position, so I’m stumped.
Quilting Table
It looks like a portable rack to hang clothes on hangers, either to dry or maybe for display in a store.
I would say it is a display stand. Possibly to drape towels or table linens on.
Antique Pasta drying table/rack
To display ties or scarfs in a dept store