The Leistler Bookcase is a massive, historic

bookcase A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookst ...

made out of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

History

It was produced in 1850-51. The design is by Bernardis di Bernardo, who was assisted by

Josef Kranner Josef Ondřej Kranner, or Joseph Andreas Kranner (13 June 1801, Prague - 20 October 1871, Vienna) was a Czech architect. He became the first Master Builder at St. Vitus Cathedral when construction resumed there in 1861. Life and work He was th ...

. The bookcase was produced by the Austrian company Carl Leistler & Sohn in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. It was sculpted by Anton Dominik Feinkorn and carved by Franz Maler. The bookcase was shown at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

1851 in London. Leistler's exhibits were described as "massive, bold and masculine in design, and well adapted to a palace". The bookcase, "a cathedral in wood", bears elaborate decoration that referred to current debates on the unification of the German-speaking peoples. It was presented to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

by Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

and installed in

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

for Albert, Prince Consort. In 1851, in its coverage of the Great Exhibition, the Illustrated London News described the piece as "the stately carved bookcase, by Leitner, claims special attention for its elaborate and ambitious design and the careful workmanship bestowed upon it." As tastes changed over time, it was given to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, who in turn passed it on to the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. It has the inventory museum no. W.12-1967.

External links

Installation of the Leistler Bookcase
(video)

References

Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum Austrian furniture designers History of the University of Edinburgh 1851 works {{England-stub