Thanks for the info, Igor. This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. This may
be a long shot, but is there any chance of getting a few digital pics of the
door and it's molding details? I'm actually looking at that problem (having to
bevel or round the hinged side) right now and would like to see what has
actually worked in the real world. Any further details would be GREATLY
appreciated!

Thanks again,

--Henry
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To reply use henry @t henrywebb d0t com

Igor wrote:

I happened to visit a friend's house -- on Monday, about 2500 miles away,
so I am always thinking of the problems posed here -- that has a full-sized
door bookcase, fully loaded, on hinges. Not only does the unit hold books,
but also a bronze bust and some trophies. Even empty, I bet the thing
weighs a lot.

House was started in the 20s and finished after prohibition started. Built
by wealthy "porcelin king" -- there are so many bathrooms in the house that
even after staying there for years I found another one recently.
Incredible tile work. 10 baths so far, I think.

Anyway, the door/bookshelf opens to the back of the bar. A 10" deep
counterbalanced bookshelf drops down like a vertical pocket door to hide
the bar itself. The wall it is in is about 40" thick. (That is, bar
counter opens to one room; the door that lets you get behind the bar is
accessed from another room.) Anyway, the "door" is built entirely with 1x
oak; no 1/4" ply for the back. I did not get a chance to study the
joinery. For clearance, the corner edge of the "door" that is on the latch
side is actually rounded -- you can only see that feature when you open the
door. Does that make sense? You know how you cannot, looking down from
above, have a square corner for the latch-side rear corner or the door
could not open; normally, that would be angled, but they rounded it. From
the room-side, by using wide pieces of molding, they could make the inside
of that same corner appear square. Beautiful work. BTW, the bookshelf
side of the door and all the adjoining shelves in that room are painted
white; you can only see the oak on the bar/in- side.

The hinges are hidden but not invisible -- it is not truly a hidden door.
My guess is that this was the type of house that during prohibition did not
have to worry about a raid -- well-connected owner. Then again, maybe
there was something else used to hide the hinges back then. OTOH, the
drop-down pocket-bookshelf on the other side does make the bar counter
invisible.

The door is held with 3 large, but certainly not huge mortised-in hinges --
and it swings with no effort. The hinges are maybe 4" high and maybe 3"
wide -- there are 2 columns of 3 screws on each hinge plate.

HTH. -- Igor