Thompson No. 12043-T

Type Cabinet

 

This page goes into the details of an usual Thompson Type & Spacer cabinet in hopes to maybe find out more about this cabinets design.  The first photo shows it's original spot where it was found in 2003...buried in a corner behind other cabinets.  Then for the next 13 years it sat on display in building that was not climate controlled at all.  So between the those two this beast suffered waiting for his day to be restored!!!!

     

Well that day finally came in January of 2017, the process started on bring this rare piece back to its glory look again.  This cabinet and cases are all Thompson and this piece was sold through Perfection Type in Saint Paul, MN....which is still in business today!!!  Click here to see their website.

     

     

The goal is to restore each piece back to it former glory.  Make it look like the day it was placed in a print shop the very first time, or the way it looked in a distributors show room.  I believe this is about as close as your going to get.  Three cases will still need to be found to make this complete, but I know I'll find them in the next year or so.  All the metal spacing material is in galley's waiting to be put back into this cabinet.  The back side has a place for cast iron furniture.  They are all sandblasted clean, painted, and the edges wire brushed giving them the same original new look. 

    

The next group of photo's show the step of putting together this piece.  First you start with a simple standard common Thompson Steel cabinet.  Then you hang the front spacer storage unit on the back side of the standard cabinet - this now making the back side the front.  The front spacer unit also has the two drawer option bolted on the under side if it.  Now place the top working surface on the unit which ties the cabinet and front space until together nicely.  The last step is to place the upper spacer storage piece on the top toward the back, and screw it into place.  A simple cabinet with a few options screwed onto it.....amazing!!!