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Wednesday, 26 September 2012

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Too small, where are you going to keep your Gursky?

this is more like it

Hugh,
Finally, proper storage for my art collection! [g]

Mike

A fine piece of bespoke cabinet-making. Shaker-like in elegant simplicity and functionality.

Furniture, handcrafted in China around that time, would have used fine exotic hardwoods (maybe Cedar). It's joinery and finish would have been just as fine but more elaborate. And definitely cheaper, until you shipped it Stateside. Unless of course you spirited it out aboard Sand Pebbles.

Lovely old catalog, too! We can note that back then, just as today, a good Zeiss lens will cost significantly more than the camera to mount it upon, but those early ones don't keep their value (if adjusted for inflation).

Dear Mike and Ed,

The cost of living index typically underestimates real changes in buying power by 1%-1.5%/year. So, a more proper estimate of the price of that cabinet today would be $3,000-$5,000.

Still worth every penny.

pax / Ctein

This reminds me of the painting room in the house of Sir John Soanes (architect). By incorporating large hinged panels into three of the walls of a small room, he managed to hang as many paintings as you would expect to find in a large gallery.

WolframAlpha gives 1045.28 for 45 1913 dollars in 2012, CPI of 3+% over that time period.

Calculating inflation/buying power over time is such a tricksy thing... We don't buy the same things decade after decade, and the prices of the things we do buy are changed by all manner of factors that aren't inflation.

And don't bet that the cabinet was "handcrafted from fine woods" - by the turn of the century, cheap(er) furniture from mass factories was already well established in the market. It doesn't appear particularly complex either, being of straightforward case construction. Hanging those inner leaves would be a bit tricky because of the confined space, but other than that they're just simple frames with a panel.

iPhoto for the Victorian household?

According to my inflation calculator the case would cost 1,047.00 now.

What a wonderful way to display pictures! Just add some lighting, and it is perfect. Bring out my hammer and saw, but first I have to free up a bit of wall and floor again!

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