Blanket Chest over drawers

Date1796

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Chester County

MediumBlack walnut, tulip poplar, sumac, cherry, iron, and brass

DimensionsOH: 28 ½"; OW: 49 7/8"; OD: 23"

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Weldon MacDonald

Object number2012-146

DescriptionAppearance: Chest over two drawers; lid with batten ends and molded edges around three sides hinged with long iron hinges to chest opens to reveal interior with lidded till across proper right end of chest; till has a removable side that reveals a hidden compartment below main section of till accessed from the side; surbase molding around base of chest compartment above two side by side drawers with thumbnail molded edges; base molding and shaped bracket feet dovetailed at corners; front of chest inlaid in center with astragal ended reserve comprised of short pieces of wood with angled ends alternating orientation to create straight and curved lines enclosing inlaid inscription "17 C * L 96" over an inlaid heart containing two inlaid six pointed stars and all flanked by inlaid tulips with serpentine branches and rooted in hearts; exposed dovetails on chest section and feet; brass escutcheon on chest and one drawer pull original.

Construction: The two board butt joined walnut top is tenoned and pinned into end battens and attached with iron strap hinges that are riveted and nailed to the top and back of the chest. The butt joint of the top is strengthened with two inset butterfly patches (possibly original). Integral molding runs along the front and side edges of the top, under which is nailed a mitered cove molding that overlaps the chest sides. The single board front of the chest is inlaid with cherry and sumac and has several patches which appear original and probably replaced broken wood of knots.

The sides are open dove tailed to the chest front, below which they serve as outside drawer guides and rest on the case bottom to which they are probably pinned from the underside. The belt molding is through pinned to the chest front and sides. Virtually all dovetails are wedged.

The two horizontal boards of the tulip poplar case bottom are joined with two floating tenons. The two board butt-joined and nailed tulip poplar back is joined to the sides with half blind dovetails and pinned to the bottom from the underside.
The single board tulip poplar chest bottom is set in dados in the sides, pinned to the chest front from below and nailed from the back with a single nail. The front edge is faced with walnut. The drawer divider is tenoned and pinned into the chest bottom, and tenoned and probably pinned into the case bottom. A drawer guide is tenoned and pinned into the top of the drawer divider and tenoned into the back.

Within the chest, the integral pintles of the till cover are set in holes in the front and rear panels. The bottom and side of the till as well as the bottom of a lower hidden compartment are set in dados in the front and rear panels as well. The side of the hidden compartment slides into the same wide and extended dado as the upper till side. A hole in the front of the chest connects to a hole in the side panel of the hidden compartment, enabling a pin (missing) to be inserted as a security device.

The integral foot and base moldings and rear brackets are pinned to boards that are in turn pinned to the underside of the case bottom front and side edges and behind the brackets on the back edge. The front feet are open dovetailed and the rear feet joined to the back brackets with half blind dovetails. The brackets are also pinned to the case bottom. Triangular glue blocks reinforce the feet. The front feet are pinned to the glue blocks from the front and side

The drawers are of wedged dovetail construction, with bottoms chamfered to fit into dados in the front and sides and pinned to the edge of the drawer backs from the underside. Drawer bottoms are two boards with front to back grain.
Label TextThis intricately inlaid walnut chest was probably made for a twenty year old Catherine Laubach of Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1796. The chest represents a body of work produced by two unknown cabinetmakers of Germanic descent probably working near the Pikeland Township area of Chester County. Hearts and tulips were traditional motifs found in the arts of Pennsylvania Germans. While many Pennsylvania German chests were decorated with painted motifs, this example has those same culturally significant elements inlaid into its walnut façade.

ProvenanceAccording to donor, her father, Frederick Hunter Klein, purchased the chest from Lancaster, PA dealer Hattie Brunner in the 1930s as a birthday gift for his wife, Margaret Rose Klein. The chest was given to the donor by her parents.

Given the Laubach family provenance of the related inlaid ML 1781 chest at the Winterthur Museum, this example may have been originally made for Anna Catherine Laubach (1776-1835) prior to her marriage in 1800 to John Acker (1774-1847).

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