Antique Hope Chest

Looking inside this dark wood chest is like looking back through nearly 400 years of American history.

In colonial America, chests like these would have been essential to any home.  They were storage for heavy blankets, desperately needed during long winters.  They were specifically made with unadorned tops so as to comfortably double as a seat in homes which could not afford much furniture.  The design of the cubby on the left hand side is to store bee’s wax candles – a predecessor to moth balls.

In time, these also became known as “hope chests”.  They would be a common part of a young woman’s dowry in which gifts of linen and blankets would be stored untill she married.

Our hope chest in Tualatin is a real beauty.  Its wood is dark, smooth, and virtually unblemished.  Its hardware is in great shape, although we don’t have the key to its lock.  Its the kind of quality furniture worth handing down.

More info about chests like this one, check out: http://www.wwch.org/monproj/yr03/jan03/blankchest.htm