A Chest by Any Other Name

 

QUESTION: I have inherited a chest that originally belonged to my great-grandmother which had been passed down to her daughter, my grandmother, then to my mother, her daughter. My mother used the chest, made of cedar, to store blankets and linens in her bedroom. I inherited it when she died two years ago. People have told me that it was a hope chest. What was a hope chest and what was it used for?

ANSWER:  “A rose by any other name....” so go the words of William Shakespeare. The same can be said of the “hope” chest. Originally referred to as a dowry chest, cedar chest, or trousseau chest, it changed names with the times. The dowry chest was meant to contain assets–money and jewelry—that the family of the bride gave to the groom in exchange for their daughter’s hand in marriage. But hope chest implies something else—the hope for a good life for her in marriage.

Young unmarried women used a hope chest to collect and store items, such as clothing and household linen, in preparation for married life. Americans called this a "hope chest" or "cedar chest" while the British referred to it as a "bottom drawer." 

Using her own needlework skills to construct a trousseau was for a young girl the equivalent of planning and saving for marriage by her future husband. The collection of a trousseau was a common coming-of-age rite until the 1950s, a step on the road to marriage between courting a man and engagement. Such a chest was an acceptable gift for a girl approaching a marriageable age.

What did a young girl put in her hope chest? Typically, she stored traditional dowry items, such as special dresses, table linens, towels, bed linens, quilts, silverware, and sometimes  kitchen items. As a bride would normally leave home when she married, cabinetmakers often made hope chests to be portable by including sturdy handles on either side. 

Traditionally, a mother would pass her hope chest down to her daughter. She would start preparing a hope chest from the time her daughter was a young age and slowly build the collection as the years went by. The chests contained many things thought of as “essentials,” such as china, silverware, linens, clothing, and jewelry, that a young woman would need to start a new life in marriage.

It was also standard practice to include family heirlooms and mementos. Things like albums or photographs, letters or treasured objects passed down through the generations that may not have much monetary or practical value but which would comfort the young woman in her new home.

The chest itself was often made of cedar. At that time, cedar was easily available and a popular choice for storage thanks to its naturally fresh, long-lasting fragrance, as well as natural resistance to mold and insects. Cedar also had a naturally warm color and a softer, cozier texture.

But hope chests didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Around 3,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians created boxes and wooden chests with dovetail joints. The wealthier a girl was, the more ornately-decorated and -painted was her hope chest.

Between the 5th and 15th centuries, wooden chests saw a period of prosperity. In Europe, most were made of hardwoods like oak, poplar, walnut, pine woods and some soft woods. It was during this time that decorating a chest wasn’t just reserved for kings; it became common practice to add friezes and panels to the outer lid of a chest. Handles also began to appear, but not for decoration. During times of wars, battles and invasions, a household had to be ready to pack up their things and flee at a moment’s notice.

The 17th century witnessed a change in the hope chest—the addition of drawers. For the first time in history, cabinetmakers incorporated storage drawers into chest design. At first, it was simply the addition of two small drawers underneath the chest. By the end of the century, chest makers chose mahogany and employed inlay materials like pearl and bone. They also began to finish the chests with a coat of lacquer.

By the 19th century, the hope chest had evolved into a tradition in most families, especially among immigrants to America. This was typical among Scandinavian and German immigrants. The Amish have had a long traditions of plainly constructed chests with extensive painted decoration.

Today, the tradition of keeping a hope chest has faded away. One of the primary reasons is that such a chest tends to glorify the outdated idea of a “dowry.”  Also, it isn’t the most practical  since the items traditionally kept in a hope chest, like fancy linens and dresses, aren’t exactly the things a modern bride “needs” for a successful marriage. However, antique hope chests can be found in both antique shops and shows. And the more decoration one has, the higher the price.

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Happy 10th Anniversary

QUESTION: I’ve been working on my family’s genealogy and was going through some boxes of documents and such that have been passed down for several generations. In one of them I discovered some invitations and some small tinware items, plus an article from the social page of our local newspaper, dated June 30, 1908, which says, “ Ten years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Cameron celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary on June 24 with general jollification, and the musical tintinnabulation of a tin wedding. The couple sent out invitations, and at 3 P.M.on the 24th, about 70 well-pleased guests gathered at their home. The couple, decorated in artistically designed tin ornaments that caught and reflected the rays of the setting sun, greeted their guests, shared with them a bountiful meal, then unwrapped a myriad of tin gifts." I’ve never heard of a tin wedding anniversary. Was this something that people celebrated back then? And what about the tinware gifts? Are they collectible today?

ANSWER: During the 19th century, tenth wedding anniversary parties were all the rage among wealthy and middle class couples. The gift for this anniversary was tin which enabled guests to give some imaginative gifts.

Tinware is any item made of prefabricated tinplate. Usually, it refered to kitchenware made of tinplate, often crafted by tinsmiths. It’s strong, easily shaped, and corrosive resistant. Though tinplate originated in Bohemia during the Middle Ages, it didn’t becomean industry until the rolling mill was invented in 1728.  By 1890, England dominated the market for tinware.

Tinware production in the United States began when a Scottish immigrant named Edward Pattison settled in Berlin, Hartford Country, Connecticut. His tinware goods became extremely popular due to their ease of use and cleaning. To help fulfill tinware orders, he took on apprentices, which later helped to make Berlin, Connecticut, the center of tinware manufacturing in the American Colonies.

Traveling salesmen called Yankee Peddlers usually sold tinware. These Yankee Peddlers were both employees of tinware shops or independent. Often, they traded tinware for “Truck”, or bartered items, which tin shopkeepers then sold in their stores.

Coffeepots and spice boxes were once the traditional gifts at a tenth wedding anniversary celebration. Utilitarian tin vessels, custom-made by the village tinsmith, blended in with tinware crafted for everyday kitchen use. Couples also received tin miniatures and whimsies.

Sometimes, couples sent out tin-edged invitations. Guests who couldn’t attend the festivities sent tin cards of regret. Those who planned to attend the party visited their local tinsmith to commission a gift reflecting the couple’s individual personalities and their interests.

A miniature tin hoe, rake and spade with turned wood handles would have delighted a housewife/gardener. Friends saw to it that she was also well supplied with tin adornments for her person, including tin curls, tin cuffs, a tin crown, and a very feminine brooch-and-earrings set. The husband, on the other hand, may have received a tin photograph album and stereopticon, as well as a tin pipe and an oversized pocket watch.

Tin, being a particularly malleable metal, lent itself to a seemingly limitless variety of forms. Flowing shapes, like ribbons, or delicately curved flower petals were easily achieved, as were wire-mesh, linked-chain, intricate filigree and stamped, textured surfaces. Tinsmiths polished most pieces to a bright shine, but also painted others or coated them with black asphaltum.

Tinsmiths who worked daily making and repairing skimmers and cake tins welcomed the chance to try their hand at any number of amusing objects. At times they even signed and dated their works of art. While they often crafted top hats and bonnets in the same size as their real-life counterparts, they produced other tin pieces either larger than life or smaller. A person who used a lot of salt on their food may have received a two-foot-tall salt shaker or one whos didn’t cook very much may have received a tiny tin step stove with a miniature kettle and pot.

A banker may have received a folded tin wallet marked "legal tinder,” filled with oversized tin "dollars.”. And someone who loved to play bridge may have received a full deck of boxed tin playing cards featuring photographs of the luminaries of the day.

Tradition for tenth wedding anniversary parties dictated that the original wedding party, family and intimate friends be invited, although friends sometimes converged on the couple with a surprise shower of tinware. American newspapers from the mid-1800s to 1910 .documented tin "showers" as a popular social event.

Women's magazines of the day had many suggestions for planning such parties, including the arrangement of flowers for the table in a tin bucket flanked by tin candlesticks. Food might be served from tin plates lined with paper doilies, and dessert passed in individual tin patty pans. Tin cups were used for punch or coffee. And the bride herself might carry a wedding bouquet fittingly arranged in a petite tin funnel.

Though mention of tin wedding anniversary celebrations can be found as late as 1923, they had all but died out by 1910.

In the years following tin anniversary parties of the 19th century, the gifts often would end up scattered among the celebrants' families, lost, or recycled in war scrap-metal drives. Most families didn’t have the luxury of space to save their tenth anniversary tinware gifts.

Prices for tenth anniversary tinware today range from $25 for a punched napkin holder to $200 for a tin coffeepot and more than $1,000 for a tin bonnet. But finding any tinware wedding gift items can be a challenge.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about Colonial America in the Spring 2018 Edition, "EArly Americana," online now.