Within the pierced design on the table top is the name of the maker \"B.F. GLEASON, BROCKPORT N.Y , PAT.D APRIL 12, 1881 , SEPT 7, 1886\"When I first acquired this table I was tempted to replace the table top as you can see the condition of the top is quite poor when compaired to the rest of the table but after living with it I came to really appreciate the worn charm of the original top. I used it as an occasional snack table for my halloween parties (it\'s also wonderful as a table for use with a Ouija board for obvious reasons). I was toying with having an acrylic or glass top cut for it but never got around to it.
Open it measures: 18.3/4\" high (slightly higher at the head of the table than at the end of the table as they liked to have the head slightly raised) 75.5\" long x 2.5\" wide.
Closed it measures: 4.1/4\" x 19.\" x 38.\".
Weight: approx. 25 pounds
Much wear to table top warping, cracking & losses to wood on table top. The rest of the structure legs, frame and hardware are all quite sturdy and sound. Opens and closes just as it was made to do. Well made nickel plated cast brass hinges and really great art deco handle on the side. They were produced by the Gleason company (local to Brockport). B. F. Gleason was a quite well-known company that produced and sold these types of cooling tables all over the country. Gleason’s claim to fame in the world of embalming was their portable table design (which this one is), that could be unfolded and transported with ease. During the Victorian era, funerals would have been held within the home of the deceased individual. (On an interesting side note, the word ‘parlor’ was abandoned after funerals stopped being held within the home, and changed to ‘living room’ as a means of disassociating the family-oriented space with its former moroffer function. If the person died before funeral arrangements could be made, it was necessary for their body to be preserved long enough for the funeral. “The sick were more likely to die at home than in hospital and their corpse would remain there until interment.\"These sorts of cooling tables would have been situated over several large blocks of ice. The cool air from the ice would permeate through the holes in the table, and would preserve the body (actually, quite well). These tables were also used for the embalming procedure, as the holes acted as drainage during the preservation and removal of liquids.
Further research into the Gleason company...
Gleason himself lived in Brockport, New York, and produced these tables from his factory located in the building directly behind the Strand Theater (which is still there today.)
These tables, as previously mentioned, are portable and fold up quite small. They were a favorite of Civil war medics, who used them for battlefield amputations due to their light weight, portability and drainage.
