# Anyone know what this is?... I need help in figuring this one out.



## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)




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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

no clue Bud


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Looks like a case for an old radio


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

I hope I am so wrong… Is this a caninet for using and storing a "thunder bucket"?


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## paulcoyne (Nov 9, 2009)

I love that thunder bucket… that was my first taught but dont think so now…
no clue now at all


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## Tom8021 (Jul 14, 2009)

Hard to tell from photo, Does the front swing down and the insides are pulled forward? Does it pull enough out to be a commode?


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## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)

The front door pulls down to reveal that odd shaped opening, the top is basically a rectangle with two pointed ends so you have a leg on each corner and then a leg on each end point with bracing near the bottom of the legs, this prevents something being placed on the floor beneath it. when you look in the odd shaped hole in the front you can see a hole in the bottom of the drawer. when you pull the drawer the hole is in the bottom of the case and drawer bottom is made so it does not cover the hole. A old water bowl and pitcher were there and if you put the bowl in there with the drawer pushed in you cant reach in the odd shaped hole to but anything in or take out of the bowl. It does have some stenciled numbers on it so it was manufactured I thing, not a one off for someone, thats all I know…thanks for any and all info and ideas…


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## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)

its about 25-30 inches high


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Here is something: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:QJGzW4VsQcUJ:antiquebedweblog.com/antique-bedroom-furnture/antique-bedside-tables-pot-cupboards-night-commodes-and-close-stools+old+furniture+%22night+commode%22&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Called a "night commode"


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## fredf (Mar 29, 2008)

record player??? the cutout in the draw kinda looks like where a changer would go


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

Wow, That is an odd thingie…...

How tall is it? I doesn't look like you could sit in it and the drawer and frame aren't particularly designed for efficient use either. I have seen a sit-in commode but never one with odd shaped holes or no way to place anything under it. In the other style, which are simply storage cabinets for a separate 'mug' which was covered and placed in the cabinet, access is straight-forward and practical; usually a door.

And did I say it looks too tall? Thus I don't think it's a commode.

The unique front hole (that's an assumption; could be the back) and the alignment of holes internally hint at its use as the cabinet for some form of machine or mechanism. It appears to be too deep for someone to stand behind so it doesn't qualify as a workstation…..

Lessee, someone would approach the piece, drop the hinged door, and be confronted by that tri-lobular whatsit. What the heck happened next???

I'll be checking back….somebody should have a clue..

vicrider


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## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)

Its def not a commode, the pictures are cut off a bit, I re-sized but I cant seem to get the whole picture in the forum, if you right click and choose "View Image" you can see the whole picture.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

An old Singer sewing machine table? My mother used to have an old Singer card table style that the sewing machine would flip up through the tabletop opening. Hmm… Just guessing.


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## tbone (Apr 24, 2008)

Are there any identifying marks such as manufacturers' name, date, model #? Anything?


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

lew is right I saw one in and old upscale antique house, the poor had only a pot under the bad.


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## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)

its not a commode, the top is fixed and the only thing that moves is the door pulls down and you can slide the "drawer" out. There are supports running between the legs about 6 inches up from the bottom of the legs so you cant put anything on the floor beneath it. There are some stenciled numbers but I could not find any manufacturers mark on it, I may need to look at it much closer.

here is a picture of the numbers, the piece is in Mississippi and I am in Texas so next time I am there I will have to take better pics, and I closer look, I did turn it upside down and this was the only marking I could find.


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## Deltarich (Nov 6, 2008)

The opening at the front is definitely for a radio. Look up Pooley cabinets.


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## tbone (Apr 24, 2008)

I think Deltarich is right on. It sure looks like a radio cabinet. I googled "pooley radio cabinets" and saw some similar pieces.


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## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)

I collect tube radios so I am pretty sure its not a radio cabinet, there are no holes or attachment points inside the cabinet, on the drawer bottom etc. There are no places underneath for a speaker to be affixed. The inside edges of the hole are finished and there are no marks on the outside or inside of the hole to suggest anything was ever attached there, the hole was meant to be opened. When the door is closed it is almost completely flush with the hole board so no knobs dials could have been there or the door would not close. It definitely looks like the door was made to open downward and you could reach in, the only thing I have heard that is close to what it looks like is some sort of voting box, Masons, or Fraternal black/white marble voting box although most of those are more portable, not a piece of furniture. I appreciate the ideas…Ill find out what it is someday.


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## brunob (Dec 26, 2006)

I have a small table with that type of cutout in it. It is for a phone back before the breakup of the phone system, the were all "Bell". That was their symbol.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

That is a tough one. The triangular hole seems too small for a chamber pot and the top too high to sit on.

I give up!


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## PorkPie (Apr 26, 2010)

Deltarich and tbone were correct, almost, its an Atwater Kent Table Radio, sans radio. The speaker was attached to the radio and hung down from the bottom.


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