Original Midcentury 1960s Staples Ladderax Two Bay Modular Shelf System

Truly versatile pieces of furniture, British maker, Staples, made modular Ladderax storage systems, incorporating shelves, desks, bookcases, corner units, drawers and more. These different elements can be configured in whatever way suits. This two-bay, free-standing shelving system (as opposed to the design that leans against the wall) is a fine example of a piece of furniture that delivers on multiple fronts – work station, masses of storage, lots of display surfaces. It incorporates two sliding door cabinets, the pull-down writing desk, a shelf and the rarely seen, wide three drawer unit. Move the shelves and cabinets around to suit your requirements and use this for books, plants and storage, showing off your favourite homewares and more. This piece of classic, vintage midcentury furniture would work in any room in the modern home from lounge to bedroom to kitchen, creating a high-impact, statement feature wall.

SKU: M214

Description

This is an original, vintage modular piece that is ‘sold as seen’. It is in good, used condition. It has been cleaned and the teak elements polished with natural beeswax polish. The full inventory for this modular shelving system is:

3 x Tall Black Ladder Uprights (H: 201cm / D: 36cm)
1 x Writing Desk Bureau (W: 89.5cm / H: 40cm / D: 35cm)
1 x Glass Front Cabinet with Glass Shelf (W: 89.5cm / H: 48cm / D: 35cm)
1 x Sliding Door Cabinet (W: 89.5cm / H: 48cm / D: 35cm)
1 x Three Drawer Unit (W: 89.5cm / H: 48cm / D: 41cm)
1 x Shelf (W: 89.5cm / H: 2cm / D: 36cm)
10 x Metal Support Rods plus screw fittings to secure cabinets onto ladders
(Note: the chair is not included but listed separately)

In our experience, Ladderax systems are often quite heavily knocked, partly because of their age and partly because of their function as a multi-purpose, high-use piece of furniture. This is true of this piece. The component parts do come with scratches, scuffs, chips and marks but overall we would categorise them as minor and in line with the piece’s age and purpose. The sliding glass doors and internal glass shelf of the closed bookcase unit are in very good order, and the doors slide with ease in their runners. The double sliding door cabinet is clean and tidy inside and again the door slides with ease. The drop-down cabinet is clean and tidy inside with just light marks. This cabinet comes with a working lock and key, and the drop-down hinges slide with ease. The three drawer unit is in good order inside and out, and this can be locked too. Please do browse all our photos for an accurate sense of condition. The nature of this modular system means it can be configured in all manner of ways – we would recommend that there are two people on hand during assembly. The uprights of this particular model are freestanding, not wall-leaning, but we would not recommend it being set out in an open plan space – it’s designed to be in front of a wall.

Dimensions
H: 201cm / W: 185cm / D: 41cm