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The etagere is a furniture form that originated in the early nineteenth century. Etageres are cabinets with shelves, made to display bric-a brac, souvenirs, small collections, and so on. John Henry Belter made many kinds of etageres. The most common style Belter etagere has a low base below one or more framed mirrors with flanking shelves. Belter also made etageres with cabinet bases and console table bases. I am not aware of any labelled Belter etageres.

About the only way I know to identify an etagere as having been made by Belter is to compare its over all appearance, quality, construction, and decoration with known Belter furniture of another form, usually tables and bureaus.

As shown earlier, the apron frames of Belter closed carved parlor tables are made by stacking up and gluing together several pieces of wood, which are then cut into shape with a saw and veneered on the finish side. The aprons for low base Belter etageres and console base Belter etageres I have seen are made in this same way. The frame moldings around a Belter etagere's mirrors are the same as the moldings around a patent bureau's mirrors. Belters etageres incorporate many of the same decorative motifs as his other furniture, including scrolling vines, leaves, flowers, fruit, vegetables, acorns and grapes. It is not uncommon to see stylized dolphins or naturalistically carved birds, animals, cupids, and cheribum in the crests or shelf supports of Belter etageres. There is sometimes, but not always, a laminated fretwork above or below the shelves on a Belter etagere.

Belter cabinets, in general can be attributed based on their over all appearance, quality, and decoration, but unless a piece happens to be labelled it is not today possible to honestly confirm, with absolute certainty, that it is Belter.

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