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Businesses, offices, warehouses, retail establishments and homes will all find use in a heavy-duty bookshelf, whether to serve as a little living library, a reference repository or simply to act as a convenient storage space for smaller yet still heavy goods.
Bookshelves come in all shapes and sizes, but by far the most unusual and unique example of a bookshelf type is the extensible bookshelf, often known as the “barrister’s bookcase”.
They have built up a legacy as a bookshelf design designed to achieve a very specific task that is far less important now than it used to be but was at one point absolutely essential.
A Library On The Move
Legal advocates that appear before the High Court, Barristers typically need to travel in order to represent their clients in court, often requiring copies of legal documents and legal materials to travel with them throughout their legal circuits.
They needed to be heavy-duty enough to carry a full shelf of exceptionally heavy hardback books, they needed to be small enough for two people to carry and they needed to be robust enough to protect the contents, which were at least very expensive and often confidential.
They also, in keeping with late-Victorian and early-Edwardian tradition, needed to look particularly aesthetically pleasing once they reached their new home, office or guest room.
The solution turned out to be a set of shelving units that were self-contained. These could be stacked on top of each other to create a free-standing bookcase, although some sets also came with a bottom unit that acted as a chest of drawers and a set of feet.
Each shelf had a glass door that was locked in place and opened vertically in order to keep the books safe whilst on their journey. This would typically slide up and over the books to look inconspicuous when in situ.
This meant that a barrister would not need to carefully unload a shelf and load the books into a box or carrying case, but instead could use the shelves themselves as a handy box.
The leaded glass frontage keeps out direct sunlight, which can damage books, as well as dust and moisture which can destroy them outright, as well as providing a way to show off books without potentially risking their theft.
The popularity of the barrister’s bookshelf quickly spread to universities, libraries and schools, which also required heavy, rare and expensive books to be carried around carefully.
As times changed, books became cheaper and more accessible, which meant that it was not always necessary to carry the only copy of a reference material around, meaning that the barrister’s bookshelf became far less practically important, although some manufacturers still make them.
They have since become exceptionally popular, both in concept as seen with other modular furniture, as well as the barrister’s bookshelves themselves as a symbol of how good design can solve any problem.
This reputation has led to a revival in their interest, with both conventional and fixed “decorator” versions being sold to interior designers.
For more information on The Strange Modular History Of The Barrister’s Bookshelf talk to UK Shelving Ltd