If you should see handsome glass cabinets of the Sheraton or Hepplewhite period going cheaply you may reasonably expect knavery of some sort. Glass panes, for example,may replace original panelling, the glass being taken from a derelict piece. This sort of cannibalism goes on a good deal with all kinds of furniture.

But of course if you are buying not for a rise in values but for the pleasure of having a handsome piece of furniture, your twenty pounds or so will buy you something quite attractive.

But look closely also at the wealth of cabinets from the nineteenth century. Our Victorian Sheraton specimen corner cabinet could fill a dull corner very adequately, and anyone with a clever husband will be able to get him to provide it with concealed lighting. There is also the Chinese one—nobody can tell what infinite pains went into all that lush carving. The piece did not seem dear when I saw it offered at Austens for only £35.

Historically, the display cabinet really came in with china—whether it was from

China itself, from Chelsea or Chantilly—so it seems logical to have your cabinet in Chinese style.

If, however, you prefer one of the little square or round or kidney-shaped display cabinets (see below) go for one while they are still cheap. This one was priced at £28 when I saw it, but prices are rising. These pieces are admirable when you need to see “all around” your china or silver.

Everyone knows what a whatnot is except when somebody insists on calling it an étagère. There is a case, however, for saying that the latter is not a free-standing column of shelves on uprights, but a table or sideboard with additional “stages”—as the French name implies. But there is another school of thought which holds that a whatnot is an etagere when it is in a four-square “Louis Seize” style with brass galleries and lots of ormolu. Some Regency and early Victorian versions of these are about at surprisingly reasonable prices for such a handsome and useful piece of furniture.

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