Campaign Whatnot

A mahogany Whatnot with five shelves, made to dismantle.

The Whatnot is made up of two 'ladder' uprights with a pair of mortice joints cut to each shelf level. Five pairs of rails, cut with tenons, fit into these mortice joints. Three, or every other, tenon and mortice joint is also made to receive a thumb bolt to fix the uprights, separated by the rails, to each other. One of the 'ladder' uprights is marked with Roman numerals corresponding to those on the rails. They start with I to the top of one side graduating down each mortice joint and then back up the other side to finish with X opposite the I. Of note is that the V it is not marked and IX is marked IXI. The rails have corresponding marks including the V. There is no need for the other side of the rail or the second upright to be marked. The shelves have cutouts to the corners and sit on top of the rails.

The Whatnot stands on gilt brass castors and is topped with vase finials to each corner. Each turned section between the shelves has two rings to the bottom, middle and top. This is an unusual piece of campaign furniture. We have seen smaller, later Whatnots or shelves made to dismantle with brass rods separating the boards, but this is the first that looks just like its Georgian domestic equivalent. Circa 1820.