Sunday, September 23, 2012

Thrift Score Sunday


The Big Thing

I was off and about for a little bit yesterday. Wanted to check out my usual thrift spots....Salvation Army and Goodwill. Well, I never made it to Goodwill because Salvation Army had me at hello.  I'll start with the best score first.

I was really looking for some small pieces of furniture I could repaint for our upcoming craft fair. However, the universe had something else in mind. I scoped the furniture section out back and wasn't really finding anything so I headed up front, where there are usually have a few other pieces to catch peoples attention. It worked. Everyone else was walking past this, but I knew better.


Hello gorgeous.

I sat right down on the couch next to it and started researching it on my smart phone. Yay for smart phones.  This was no antique 'toy chest' as Sally had it marked. I knew it was a hope chest of sorts, what they called a dower or blanket chest and the smart phone confirmed. 

I knew it was old from the dovetailed construction and the forged hardware along with the hand-carved areas that the hardware was set into. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it was made in the early 1800's. I reserve the right to be wrong though, but all clues seem to be leading to that time period.



It's got beautiful handpainting on it, and I thought perhaps Pennsylvania Dutch. I haven't confirmed anything yet. I've found one European blanket chest and one American online, that are the closest to this design.  From what I gather, these handpainted pieces are becoming harder and harder to come by as they are sought out by collectors and museums.  It really is a fine example of folk art.



It has some minor damage, to be expected with something of this age, but all it in all it's in pretty great condition.  It's really a wonderful piece.  Needless to say, the painting is very beautiful. Vases of flowers on the top, more flower panels on the front and then wreaths of leaves on the side.



Inside is what they call a 'till box', which held smaller items. The till box even has a second hidden compartment. I was of course hoping to find at least a little letter or note, but no such luck. 

We found a pencilled inscription in cursive that we simply can't make out. We think it may not be in English. There seems to be a name...perhaps Angelina, or Angelic and the number 16 among other words.



Suffice it to say, this chest is huge at almost 4 feet long, 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. This baby could surely fit a lot of blankets.

This score alone made me pretty darn happy. Gar, perhaps not, but he humored me and drove up with the truck to bring it home. What really makes me happy is that we were able to save this historic beauty from an unknown and perhaps toy filled, coffee table fate.  It deserves much better.

It now sits in the middle of the kitchen for the moment. I'm hoping it fits through the bedroom door so it can stay in there until we do more research to figure out pricing. I did say it was big, right?

If you happen to know anything about these dower/blanket chests, I'd be so happy if you shared.  Feel free to contact me if you're interested in this piece.

The Little Things

This is what I had in my basket before I laid my eyes on the blanket chest.

Four little ironstone 'bone dishes'. These were used as a recepticle for bones when dining. Good idea, huh?


Three vintage atlas jars, one with the rubber still intact.



Sweet needlpoint of a little church and blooming tree and flowers.



A lovely sampler of the Lord's Prayer which is professional framed and sealed.



Not a bad haul.

We did enjoy a campfire last night and it was one gorgeous night.  Today the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Gar is off on errands and I'm trying to get some things done at my desk. 

Hope you're having a great weekend,



25 comments:

  1. Great antique find! I didn't think the chest looked big in the photos until you gave the measurements!

    Also, I am totally new to the concept of a bone dish!

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    1. me too angela, i always thought they were for bread and butter!

      guess i should have left the image of the chest unedited, next to my dining room table to give it scale

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  2. Um, how much was the chest? Big score? It looks lovely! I would be all over those mason jars. I found one just like it at the dump a few weeks ago. :)

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    1. well, let's put it this way. it wasn't 'cheap' and everyone kept looking at the price and walking away. i just had a gut feeling that this was something that shouldn't be left behind. i talked them down a third. wahoo!

      you and your dump finds. i swear, i'm gonna be on your doorstep some weekend saying 'let's go to the dump'!

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    2. Someone there must have known that maybe it was something, but goodie for getting them down on the price! I can't wait to see if you learn more about it!

      The dump hasn't been so fruitful lately. I think a lot of people clean out in the spring and in the fall, and then after Christmas it's crazy!

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    3. well, i had to have the floor manager girl talk to the 'big' manager upstairs. she said, 'i'm not sure we'd be able to come down because I think the manager priced it herself'. so she might have had an incling. but since it was marked 'toy chest' i'm not sure she really knew what she had on her hands. i'm just happy to was open to making a deal. made the girl go back to the phone with her one more time to get it a little bit lower and that worked too. all in all, it's always worth asking about a lower price because all they can say is no and then you're right where you were anyways.

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  3. Wow, Pam. Kudos to hubby for helping bring that huge piece home! I just read your comment on my last post. I posted that from my IPad, on an app called Blogsy. I prefer sitting at my desk with my Mac, but on the road you have to find what works. And I'm not complaining, because sitting out on my lanai right now listening to the ocean and feeling the breezes, ..... I'll "suffer" blogging the hard way!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. it's actually not too heavy. we could both lift it together.

      and sure, rub it in. sitting on the lanai...hope you've got your sandals off. might as well really enjoy the life.

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  4. That blanket chest is just beautiful. I agree that the painting looks like Pennsylvania Dutch painting. What a treasure!

    Judy

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    1. Well hi there Judy! I'm so happy you found Mercantile Muse. It does look penn dutch, but still not sure of whereabouts, since i've seen some european (german, swedish, norwegian) chests with similar decoration. still lean towards american so penn dutch could be it.

      it will be a fun mystery to try and figure out.

      thanks so much for stopping by.

      ps- if i had the room in our little cottage, i'd keep it for myself!

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  5. Great find!!! and it's amazing how civilized people were - having dishes specific for discarded bones .. I truly wish I lived back in those days. Thanks for sharing such wonderful treasures..xo

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    1. i think it's a great idea. i hate it if we're eating something with bones and you just set it on the side of your plate. a special little plate is perfect.

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  6. Wow, what a great find! It is really gorgeous! Having grown up in near PA and seeing a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch art, I would think the painting has too smooth of lines to be PA Dutch. They're artwork tends to have more hard corners if you know what I mean. But who knows..I could be completely wrong :)

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    1. isn't it fabulous? oh man, i was on watch sitting right next to it with my phone making arrangements for gar to come and get it. nobody was going to get that baby from under my nose. thanks for the input on the penn dutch. you just never know where it will lead...like you say, everything has a story to tell.

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  7. Love. That. Trunk. It's so massive, but think of all the stuff you can store in it. Maybe it was a hope chest?

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    1. Exactly! a chest made for women 'hoping' to get married or a couple just married to store blankets, etc. It is most definitely huge. And very cool.

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  8. I love the blanket chest. I have told my Hubby that I need to find one. You are lucky.

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  9. thank goodness gar was able to come pick it up, it never would have fit into my car. although it's not terribly heavy- it's is cumbersome.

    Good luck in your hunt! it could store a serious amount of blankets for sure.

    so glad you found the Muse Willow. have a good day.

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  10. The blanket chest is the most excellent thrift store score I have ever seen! I could tell right away that it was old. It's gorgeous! So happy for your score and I'd love to give it a home in Wisconsin but I bet the shipping would be horrible!

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    1. Hi Sarah, can you believe that one? I was prepared to sit on if I had to until Gar got there!

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  11. that trunk is such a great find!

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    1. yup, pretty happy with that one Eyelah! thanks for swinging by.

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You comments make my day. Thanks for taking the time to visit Mercantile Muse and for commenting. I really appreciate it. ~Pam

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