Over the weekend the shop was flooded with cool old pieces. The particular person these pieces came from always brings in fun and unusual items, and since they come from a very entrepreneural family from here in Burlington there are many Burlington history pieces from the different businesses as well. Anyway, he dropped this off and told me that he thinks it's an antique folding picnic table. The legs fold inside, it has a handle, and it's pretty ornate appearing to be from the 1800s. I'm stoked. I love this stuff. So after he leaves, I promptly start inspecting, undoing the little clasp that keeps it together, opening it up, unfolding the legs....but something is off. One side is shorter than the other, and there are no signs of the table being cut down. Weird, right? So I think, maybe this is a hillside table. We live in a hilly town, an affluent family may have wanted a table for their hilly yard. Immediately I start envisioning a photo shoot with my boys on Snake Alley with this very unusual antique picnic table. I'm in an antique identifying group on Facebook so first I thought I'd share some pictures there, since this was so unique. Long story short (too late!) my picnic idea was made fun of. Why, you might ask? This is not a picnic table. This is not a table you would eat off of. What is it then? It's actually called a cooling table. Back in the Victorian Era, funerals were held at home. This table would have been brought in and set up over blocks of ice to display the body of the deceased. They're quite rare, especially with the caning. So, there you have it. The story of the time I almost fed my kids on Snake Alley on a dead body table. #atleastlifeisntboring #coolingtable #mortuary #antiquesandoddities #victorianantiques (at Burlington, Iowa) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByPySUTnTA-/?igshid=1bbh8gmvbs1js
