cupboard

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English livery cupboard approximately 1600 to 1640

Decorative crockery and bibelots in vitré armoire or vitrina

Cupboard with bed sheets and towels well dressed

A cupboard (pronounced /ˈkʌbərd/) or press (Hiberno-English) is a type of cabinet, often made of wood, used indoors to store household objects such as food and crockery, and protect them from dust and dirt.

As the name suggests, this piece of furniture was originally a simple board or table on which to place cups or mugs - recorded use of such a name dates back to at least the Middle Ages. For the last few centuries, "cupboard" has referred to a storage area enclosed by doors.

The term cupboard originally was used to describe an open shelved side table for displaying plates and cups and saucers. These open cupboards typically had between one and three display tiers, and at the time, a drawer or multiple drawers fitted to it. The word cupboard gradually came to mean a closed piece of furniture.^[1]

Airing cupboard

An airing cupboard is a large built-in wardrobe, sometimes of walk-in dimensions, containing a water heater; either an immersion heater for hot running water or a boiler for central heating water. Shelves, usually slatted to allow for circulation of heat, are positioned above or around the heater to provide storage for clothing, typically linen and towelling. The purpose is to prevent damp rather than to dry wet clothing. Other names include "boiler cupboard", or (in Ireland) "hot press".

China cabinet

The very first china cabinet was created during the King William and Queen Mary era (1689-1702) in England. William and Mary came from Holland, and brought with them lots of Dutch craftsmen. Queen Mary was obsessed with the Blue and White china that was being imported in Europe, so she commissioned the craftsmen to create a special cabinet that would display some of her personal collection. The cabinet itself was made of walnut, so it had to be moved with a stretcher because the large piece was too heavy for the small legs that were under it. It had a glass door, which were glass panes, which at this time were created by blowing glass into compartments and then spreading it into sheets. The original china cabinet had an oriental influence to go with the idea of the Blue and White china.

Linen cupboard

A linen cupboard is an enclosed recess of a room used for storing household linen, usually with shelves; or a free-standing piece of furniture for this purpose. ^[2] See also article linen-press.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cupboard

• Closet
• Pantry
• Sideboard

References

1. ^ John Andrews; British Antique Furniture; pp 226, Antique Collectors' Club, 2006; ISBN 1-85149-444-8
2. ^ Bravery, Suzanne (10 May 2008), "The Linen Cupboad" (PDF), Mother's Day Address at Eryldene, Gordon, NSW: Eryldene Trust 

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