Do you know the history of old filing cabinets?

Filing cabinets are one of the most used equipment in the home and office today. When you start shopping for these cabinets, there are a few things you need to know. They often come in packaged parts with the necessary hardware to put them together. These types of storage cabinets are often made of metal and come in a few colors, such as black and white. Some of these cabinets are also made of wood, especially those old cabinets that were used for everything, including armory.

Antique cabinets are often very different from what we know today. Older filing methods included the use of pigeonholes where the folded sheet of paper would be inserted into the proper area, and then when the file was needed, it was a very inefficient process to open each envelope. Later letter cabinets were designed so that letters were folded twice and then placed in the drawer, much like the pigeonhole system, but with the addition of a drawer system to allow easier access to the files. stored materials. The closest equivalent you can remember would be a card catalog at the library. With the dawn of the computer age, they fell out of use, but just fifteen years ago they could be found in most local libraries. These index card holders are similar in design to old-fashioned file cabinets.

File cabinets, as they are known today, were developed in 1898 by Edwin G. Seibels. He designed and manufactured the first vertical filing cabinet. The development of this cabinet has changed the way businesses operate and revolutionized filing.

Antique filing cabinets are usually made of wood, and the first reference to a steel cabinet was not made until 1906. For a cabinet to be considered antique, it must have been made before 1912, which severely limits the amount of usable antique furniture. . closets available.

Due to the limited number of true antique cabinets for modern use, reproductions have become very popular. An antique cabinet combines function and form to create a piece of furniture that is both beautiful and useful. All wood construction combined with sleek lines and beautiful hardware come together to create a piece of furniture that is a beautiful addition to any office.

Antique cabinet reproductions are just as beautiful as the originals; however, they combine the beauty of the original with the functionality of the modern cabinet. These “vintage” models include wood construction and hand weathering to create an aged patina along with steel rails to allow for maximum storage. Reproductions of antique filing cabinets are available in all modern styles, including lateral files, which although developed before uprights, did not become common until the 1950s. Upright antique cabinets are still in use today, and Letter cabinets with lockers are still used as mailboxes in a modern office. The durability of its construction combined with its ease of use is what makes this type of cabinet an important part of running a modern business.