American Modern Gothic Carved Walnut Bookcase , mid-19th c., attr. to Daniel Pabst, Philadelphia, molded pediment, glazed doors with lappet molding, lower doors and returns decorated with stipple carving , molded plinth, h. 104 1/2 in., w. 72 1/4 in., d. 21 3/8 in. Provenance: Civil War Society of Philadelphia.Note: Several design elements on this bookcase are closely related to known case pieces from the workshop of Daniel Pabst. The finely rendered "coin" stiles are similar to examples from Pabst's Renaissance Revival work including those on a sideboard and parlor cabinet, both conserved by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.The incised and stippled panels on this bookcase resemble panels on pieces within Pabst's Modern Gothic oeuvre related to the work of English designer Christopher Dresser. Pabst examples with similar carving include a bedroom suite in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and an armchair from a private collection illustrated in The Art that is Life by Wendy Kaplan.Ref.: Kaplan, Wendy. The Art that is Life, The Arts and Crafts Movement in America 1875-1920. New York: Bulfinch Press, 1998, p. 73, fig. 13; Talbott, David and Page. "Daniel Pabst: Philadelphia Cabinet Maker," Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin, (April 1977), p. 10, fig. 4; p. 12, fig. 6; p. 16, fig 11.