COLUMBUS - Oak aficionados may find a treasure or two within the 1915 oak library furniture collection that will be featured at Saturday's city auction.
The furniture collection includes several round library tables, chairs and display cases as well as a 20-drawer card catalog, five drawer desk and a large conference table. Also included in the auction will be an old 10-unit newspaper rack. The sale will be held on a lot between 30th Avenue and 10th Street.
Robert Trautwein, library director, said that while he hates to part with some of the history of the library, most of the furniture has been surplus since the 1976 move from Columbus' old Carnegie library. The present library building was fully furnished when it was remodeled.
“This furniture was moved from the old library to the new in 1976. Most of it has been stored in various parts of the building for the past 31 years. It's time to find new homes for the furniture,” Trautwein said.
He said that some of the furniture, such as the old card catalog and newspaper rack, could be used for other purposes such as a sports-card collector's file and a display for lap quilts, respectively.
Currently, nearly 50 pieces are included in the 1915 oak collection auction listing, but, Trautwein said, 10 of those pieces have been reserved for city use, and the library is retaining two of the round oak tables and the children's chairs, leaving more than 25 pieces up for auction. All of the furniture can be viewed in the basement of the Library until the day before the sale.
Sales from that portion of the city auction will go toward the City of Columbus and the library will be credited for the revenue generated.
The pieces “are extremely well made. I don't think there is a weak, loose-jointed chair in the bunch. People who like oak and need some sturdy items” should attend, Trautwein said. “There is one table we can't take to auction, (because) it will take some strong men to get it out,” referring to one of the conference tables on the auction.
He encouraged people to view the items, which will be available for observation in the Platte River room located in the library basement during normal library hours through Friday morning. Library Hours are 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Friday and 1:30-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
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