Expert: Eileen Cronk - 1/9/2009

Question
Hi there!  Thank you first of all for volunteering for this.  I garbage-picked an adorable little table.  It's about 2 feet high, 2 feet across, and slightly less than 1 foot wide.  I am pretty sure it is very old.  It is all made of wood.  It has a decoratively shaped top.  There is a cut-out decorative panel on each end running vertically between the legs.  What I am curious about is this:  There are two boards that go across the bottom of the table between the legs.  They are set at about a 45 degree angle to one another so that they almost touch.  They form a "V" running the length of the table that is missing its bottom.  It seems so unusual I figured there must be a purpose for that design.  Holding books or yarn, maybe?  Let me know what you think.  Thank you again.

Answer
Hi Karen
Nice to hear from you.
What you suspect is absolutely correct.
I have had several of these tables myself over the years and I use them for books. A friend has one she uses for her phone with the book underneath.
I currently have one that is fairly old. I suspect its from the 1940's. While not antique, I really like it.
Its solid ash. Almost looks like oak.
There is no way I would pass one up even if I had to garbage pick LOL.
Great Find
Regards
Eileen