Mango Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 My mom gave me this antique printers drawer to use as a display. It measures 16 1/2" x 32". The smallest compartment is 3/4 x 1 3/4. Largest compartment is 1 3/4 x 2 3/4. The slats are all interlocked. I can and will make some larger and mixed up sized openings, but I will have to be careful. The ideas I am looking for are: To mount vertical or horizontal. Hang on the wall, or make into a table. The depth of the compartments is 3/4". Unless I open them up to be very large, it will be very shadowed and dark at the bottom. To better be able to see the fossils, I need to shrink that depth. What material could be used that will bring the items forward and look good. One thought I had was to partially fill with sand/gravel (the substrate that I found the fossils in) and then solidify it. Natural look, but be heavy on a wall. I have had this drawer for a while, and just dusted it off today. I will be using it to display mostly shark teeth. Some mammal teeth, and maybe a few echinoids. Basically everything I have in my collection from here in FL. Thanks for any ideas. I will be asking more questions as I brainstorm. Mango Pentax Optio W60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear-dog Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Looks cool to me.I would rather have it on the wall with a glass front when you're done,but you would have to get or make stands for each fossil.Having a table would be as nice and all you have to do is just add a little padding in each section before you place a fossil there. Whatever the choice I would like to see the finished product.Good luck with your project. Bear-dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Mango..... Beautiful.... ''they dont make em like they used to''... look at the workmanship in that... did it come from the UK? Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilselachian Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Mango..... Beautiful.... ''they dont make em like they used to''... look at the workmanship in that... did it come from the UK? Certainly not all, but many/most of the printer drawer cabinets seen in the US were made by Hamilton Manufacturing Company in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I have seen cabinets from 10 to 40 drawers in height in single wide and even more drawers in double wides. Such units are also know as Letterman Cabinets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Hi, In France, our printers have the same furniture with drawers with a lot of lockers to tidy up their lead letters. I have a friend printer who got rid of his furniture 6 months ago and I shared with two it of my friends, they are delighted by their furniture, they tidied up their fossils inside them. Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Pareidolia : here Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted September 16, 2010 Author Share Posted September 16, 2010 Certainly not all, but many/most of the printer drawer cabinets seen in the US were made by Hamilton Manufacturing Company in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I have seen cabinets from 10 to 40 drawers in height in single wide and even more drawers in double wides. Such units are also know as Letterman Cabinets This one says " Keystone Type Foundry" on the handle. Keystone Type Foundry merged with American Type Founders in 1919. Does that mean that this drawer was made before 1919? Pentax Optio W60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilselachian Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 This one says " Keystone Type Foundry" on the handle. Keystone Type Foundry merged with American Type Founders in 1919. Does that mean that this drawer was made before 1919? Sorry Mango, but I can't be of much help regarding the age of the cabinet drawer. However, this period would likely fall into the time frame when such cabinets were in use. I have seen printer cabinets manufactured by companies other than Hamilton but don't recall the name(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilselachian Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Sorry Mango, but I can't be of much help regarding the age of the cabinet drawer. However, this period would likely fall into the time frame when such cabinets were in use. I have seen printer cabinets manufactured by companies other than Hamilton but don't recall the name(s). Here is one of five cabinets I use for fossil storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa dino Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 I have one of thoes but mine still has all the type in it. From what I have been told the old drawers can be worth a far bit of money I know a dealer who was selling them for about $600.CN each so don't be putting screws or nails in to it Why ant make a leg base for it ot sit on and just lay a glass top over it. glass top fossil table type thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Hi Mango I have one that I use purely as a decorative item. In addition to fossil collecting I also collect recent shells and have been to many a beach world wide. Beach material that I have found interesting but otherwise did not curate, I placed in the type setting drawer with a glue gun and hung on the wall. "A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Closeup "A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Posted September 17, 2010 Author Share Posted September 17, 2010 I have one of thoes but mine still has all the type in it. From what I have been told the old drawers can be worth a far bit of money I know a dealer who was selling them for about $600.CN each so don't be putting screws or nails in to it Why ant make a leg base for it ot sit on and just lay a glass top over it. glass top fossil table type thing Some of the compartment dividers have already been broken. I wont be putting any more fasteners in it, but most likely will break some more dividers off to fit larger fossils. I found a few others while looking for $60-75USD. My mom got it for $10 at a garage sale. Good find. I think the leg base is the direction I am going. I have an old table I might incorporate it into. My interior decorator is away, so I will have to wait for her return before final decision on what fits the decor. Here is a pic of what i have in mind. With the outer table, I should be able to hinge some glass. Closeup I like that. It is a nice way to display treasures. I think I will keep my eye out for more drawers. I have decided that I want an interactive display, so will be mounting horizontal. fossilselachian, Very nice. i bet there are a lot of goodies hidden in there. Pentax Optio W60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa dino Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Just watch out for the cheap over sea knock off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Now that's a cool table, Mango. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Its a very nice way to display some your collection theres hardly the skills to produce cabinet work of that calibre anymore.... Its well worth saving....looking at the examples given of your two options I can see your dilema.... If used as a wall display the bottom edge of each section would effectively be a shelf..... so stands or gluing to centralise the fossils isnt really required, if you get my drift.... as there are plenty compartments to 'customise'.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acryzona Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 I'd vote for using within a table - great conversation piece. Please post a photo of the final product! Collecting Microfossils - a hobby concerning much about many of the little paraphrased from Dr. Robert Kesling's book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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