This cabinet is the last of the pieces from a third-generation shoe and clothing retailer on the Salt River Circle in Cape Town that closed recently. It is made with solid meranti wood, with the top planks running the length of almost 4 metres of the cabinet. The cabinet was made to stand against a wall, but the Jacobs family used it as a counter, so the top has all the markings that an 80-year-old shop counter should have. We've given the top a light sanding only to clean it up a little while preserving the character. An authentic brass haberdashery ruler is still attached to the top.
The cabinet has one large shelf inside and four pairs of new sliding glass doors.
Condition: Sanded and sealed, but with all the historical marks still visible.
Dimensions: 48.5 x 392 x 92.5 cm (h)
Says the last owner of this cabinet and some others you can see here and here:
"My grandfather was Louis Jacobs. He spoke very little English, was of Lithuanian descent. A shoemaker by trade. My father did his trade in the clothing industry as a machinist of sorts. He later joined his father and started selling factory rejects in 1961. The first factory shop in Cape Town! The business was renamed in 1962 to The Reject King and became an icon in the 60's through to the 2000's. The first memory of the cabinets in our shop was in 1948. My father bought them from auctions and liquidation sales."
-Colin Jacobs
