Chest

Date1750-1800

OriginAmerica, New York, Albany (probably)

MediumWhite pine, oak and iron

DimensionsOH: 1'5"; OW: 4'4"; OD: 1'9"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1964-222

DescriptionRectangular top with quarter-round moulding cut into front and side edges; oak braces glued and nailed from underneath at either end; chamfered along outer edge. Top hinged at back by means of concealed iron strap hinges. Plain interior with till at right. Original iron lock at front with pierced rococo brass escutcheon. Immediately below escutcheon are stamped initials "PEE." Front, sides, and back of chest joined together by means of exposed dovetail. Wrought-iron handle at either side, in center, with heart-shaped back plate also of wrought iron. Plain moulding glued and nailed to base. Chest retains original all-over coat of red paint.
Label TextOriginally owned in the Elmendorf family of Kingston and Albany, New York, this chest is branded with the initials "PEE" for one of the two Peter Edmund Elmendorfs (father and son) and descended in the family. Utilitarian chests like this could have been used while traveling, making the branded initials useful for identifying ownership, much like today's luggage tags. Chests with slightly canted sides (tapering towards the top) are thought to have been sea chests as the wider base provided greater stability. Travel between Albany, Kingston, and New York City would have been completed on shipboard via the Hudson River during the 18th century.
Markings"PEE" stamped into front, under escutcheon.
ProvenanceEither Peter E. Elmendorf I (1715-1765) or his son Peter E. Elemdorf II (1764-1835) was the original owner of the chest. Eventually the chest passed to one of Peter's grandchildren: Charles P. and/or Peter Edmund Sanders. It may be the chest passed from Peter Edmund Sanders in 1874 to his sister-in-law Jane T. B. Sanders. Thence to Charles P. Jr., or one of his brothers; thence to his son J. Glen, from whose wife's estate CW obtained it in 1964.