What-not
A what-not is a piece of furniture derived from the French étagère, which was exceedingly popular in England in the first three-quarters of the 19th century. It usually consists of slender uprights or pillars, supporting a series of shelves for holding china, ornaments, trifles, or what not, hence the allusive name. In its English form, although a convenient piece of drawing room furniture, it was rarely beautiful. The early mahogany examples are, however, sometimes graceful in their simplicity.
What-not is also an English term used to incorporate any other details not mentioned. This term is used much like et cetera to supplement details.
[edit] Popular culture
In By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mrs Boast shows the Ingalls family how to make a "whatnot". Pa Ingalls built five shelves, which were set into a corner and the girls decorated it with scalloped and folded pasteboard curtains. Once it was finished, the whole thing, paper and all, was painted brown to look like a solid piece of furniture.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Ingalls Wilder, Laura (first published 1939, reprinted 1979). By The Shores of Silver Lake. Harper Trophy. pp. 208–211. ISBN 978-0-06-440005-3.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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