St. Charles Mid-Century Modern Steel Kitchen Cabinet Cutlery Drawers, 1940s
St. Charles Mid-Century Modern steel kitchen cabinet drawers 1940s original finish. Wall mountable. Features original built in cutlery drawer. See image measures: 21" W x 25" D x 30" H. St. Charles was one of the earliest brands of steel cabinetry in the United States, dating back to 1935, when St. Charles bought Janes & Kirtland, maker of the “White House Line” steel. Steel kitchens were first developed in the second half of the 1920s and exclusive to extremely high-end (often exhibition) homes in the pre-WWII era. These early (pre-war) cabinets were quite streamlined and "deco" in their appearance. Typically white, ice gray or gentle cream color, they were customized to each home and considered the 'modern' and very "American" choice for the discerning client. Frank Lloyd Wright was an early fan of steel kitchen cabinets and adopted them quite early on in the century. Wright chose St. Charles cabinets (the cream of the crop) for many of his designs. I've included a few images of the kitchen at falling water and its original St. Charles cabinetry here. By the 1950s, steel cabinetry exploded in popularity (but remained relatively "high-end") with the post-war house-building and overall economic boom in the US. By the late 1950s, steel cabinets were available in a variety of colors including deco pink, lavender, tomato red, teal, canary yellow, among others. Other steel cabinet companies came into being, such as Geneva and Youngstown. St Charles remained the most exclusive (always custom) and longest-running cabinet maker. To order a St. Charles kitchen, St. Charles expert (salesman) came to the prospective buyers’ house for an in-depth consultation. His tools included miniature cabinets that could be put together to create a kitchen to fit the homeowners’ space. This listing is for a single kitchen cabinet from a set of original St. Charles steel cabinets dating to the 1940s, with original light gray finish. It is extremely rare to find pre-war examples of the cabinets with their original finish and in good, usable condition. Other St. Charles cabinets available. Please see last photo for the various figurations available at this time. Sold separately or as a set. A few of them are listed in our 1stdibs store. Please contact us for more information.