Built-In Bookcases, Custom Bookcases And More

Molton Bookcases specializes in creating top quality bookcases. These include custom bookcases and built-in bookcases, as well as a variety of bookshelves in

fine woods such as cherry, oak and walnut, each with a chosen finish. We design our bookcases to last a lifetime.

We offer a variety of custom built-in bookcases and freestanding bookcases, as you can see from the links on this page. We also offer you some help with bookcase plans, as well as general information. While Molton Bookcases does not make all types of custom bookcases, our site at least strives to give you information about many

different kinds of custom bookcases, built-in bookcases and other bookshelves, together with details about bookshelf creation and finishing, so that you can make an informed choice. In addition, our do-it-yourself built-in bookshelf offerings allow our customers to get the advantages of built-ins with less hassle.

Built-In Bookcases

Our built-in bookcases can be sized to your space and are created to your specifications. They are identical to our freestanding custom bookcases, but created to fit side-by-side in the area you select.

To do this, you measure your space and tell us the dimensions (width; height and depth); then our staff designers can help you from there. Based on your specifications, we manufacture custom bookcases sized to fit and ship them to you. Learn more about our built-in bookcases.

Pricing

We believe in "window shopping," and Molton Bookcases knows that price is an essential factor in any consumer's shopping decision. So we make it easy for you: just come to our bookcase price page for an exact price for what you need.

Bookcase Plans

We know that bookcase plans are something that a lot of consumers would like to have. We also are aware that bookcase plans are good for people who can't always afford custom bookcases.

We're happy to offer some help. Please visit the appropriate areas of our site for reference help with bookcase plans.

Bookcase History

Bookcases were not originally even needed, when books were rare. When books were written by hand and were rare, they were kept in small containers which the rich, who were the only ones who could afford books, carried about with them on their travels. Those were the original custom bookcases. These books, originally, were handwritten in script, not printed.

As manuscript volumes accumulated in the religious houses or in manors of the wealthy, they were stored on shelves or in cupboards, and today's bookshelves are the direct descendants of those cupboards.

Eventually the cupboard doors were discarded, and the evolution continued. Even then, however, the books were not arranged in the modern fashion. Instead, they were either placed in piles upon their sides, or if stood upright, were set with their backs to the rear of the bookcase and their edges outwards. The band which closed the book was generally used for the inscription of the title, which was thus on the front edge, instead of the back edge.

It was not until the invention of printing made books available to everybody that book printers began to write the title on the back of the books and place the edges inwards. Early built-in bookcases and custom book cases were usually oak, although other woods were used for custom bookcases, such as maple, cherry and pine, and custom bookcases were even made of metal such as steel. Book cases were either stained appropriate colors, or frequently painted to be white custom bookcases.

Library bookcases are one of the most common applications. This includes custom bookshelves used both in home libraries and in public libraries. The large public libraries of the 20th century frequently used custom bookcases made of metal, as in the British Museum where the shelves are covered with cowhide, or made of steel, as in the Library of Congress.

Libraries with little space usually use mobile custom bookcases, or tower custom bookcases. As an alternative, they may use corner custom bookcases or built-in bookcases to ensure the most efficient use of space.

For mobile bookcases, several bookcases are mounted on wheels. Because of the heavy weight of the books, most of the systems are not used in homes. Many mobile books are books on startup business consulting. A home possibility is custom bookcases with ladders, which allows efficient use of high space that might otherwise not be accessible.

The history of custom bookcases and custom built-in bookcases is a fascinating and complex topic. We at Molton Bookcases are proud to be the inheritors of a thousand years of history.

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Bookcase Type Examples Antique Lawyer’s Arched Arts & Crafts Barrister’s Bed Billy Black Blueprint Boat Bookcase Cabinet Bookcase Ladder Bunk Bed Bookcase Headboard Canoe CD Children’s Corner Craftsman Custom DIY Door DVD Entertainment Centers Firehouse Fireplace Floor To Ceiling Folding Glass Door Glass Gothic Headboard Hidden Door Home Office Kid’s King Headboard Kit Ladder Lawyer’s Leaning Legal Library Limbert Low Mahogany Mission Modern Modular Narrow O'Sullivan Queen Headboard Revolving Rolling Secretary Sliding Solid Wood Stackable Steel Stickley Sullivan Tall Twin Headboard Unfinished White