Blanket chest with drawer

1780-1815

Measurements

27-1/4 in x 44-1/4 in x 17-5/8 in

Materials

White pine

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp

Accession Number

1959.3675

Condition Notes

The chest survives in very good condition.  The brasses are replacements in original holes.

Provenance

Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp

Comments

The board chest is nailed together, the front and rear boards are lapped to fit over the end boards. The front and back boards are each 16 inches wide.  A full-width drawer fills the cavity below in front, and a second backboard completes the back of the chest.  The dovetailed drawer has a scratch-bead around the front.  Multiple bottom boards with grain running front-to-back fit into a groove in the drawer front, and the boards are nailed along the back edge.  The bottom boards at each side are also nailed to the underside of the drawer sides.  The undersides of the boards display water-powered saw marks.  

The chest lid is a solid board attached with wrought iron strap hinges.  It has an applied molded edge.  Inside, the chest has a deep till on the right side.  The lock is original and has what appears to be its original brass oval escutcheon on the outside.

The chest stands on bracket feet cut from boards that are dovetailed in the front corners, showing the dovetail pins.  The top edges of the base boards are molded.  The blanket chest retains its original grain painting in shades of brown.  The chest top and back boards have a thin, light-gray colored wash or paint that looks original.

Faint scarring on the drawer front suggests that the present drawer pulls are replacements in original holes.