Hope Chest Heirlooms

Both construction types are extremely durable and long lasting forms That was soon followed by dovetail joinery. Mortise and tenon joinery was the first construction type used to create blanket chests. Wedding dresses normally were placed in these special compartments since they were handed down for generations. Since all highly valued heirlooms that a family owned were also placed in these large wooden chests, many hope chests were made with drawers along the bottom or a tray which fitted onto the top lip for this purpose.

Many of the first hope chest furniture pieces were built to hold all of the necessary household items such as blankets, linen, clothing and kitchen items. Hope chests were highly valued by Early Americans, not only for their beautiful exteriors, but also for their strong construction. Many of these wood chests are not signed or stamped by their creators. In some cities, some craftsmen would use only one type of foot style, joinery style, shell element design, certain stain colors and at times only one or two types of hardwood.

These designs developed certain characteristics in different cities so that historians are able to state the city and sometimes the exact wood artisan of most hope chests. As time went by, these furniture makers began to create their own styles. Some of the popular copied designs were taken from the Baroque Style, the Queen Anne Style and the Louis XIV Style. Hope chests made in America were created from European styles in the 1600's and 1700's by wood workers formally known as cabinet makers.