William & Mary blanket/mule chest

[cogar]

Actually, the chest is poplar, which is a hard wood. It responds well to tools and paints like a dream, you see it most often in non painted american pieces as secondary wood.

Tulip Poplar was also used as the primary wood in many early or pre-1900 American pieces (primitives) such as blanket chests, cupboards, cabinets, etc., due to its characteristics of being light (yellowish to white) colored,  straight no-distinct grain which make for an even coat of stain or buttermilk paint, extremely strong, easily sawed or carved, light in weight as compared to oak and maple, …. and last but not least, ….. the virgin Poplar was plentiful and extremely large trees ….. and thus the source of most “single-board” furniture.

[bigwull]

A But..when you google whitewood you get Spruce...and that,s all i was acting on...if that was sold over here with that sales description, then the buyer later finds out..its not whitewood...but poplar...well, suffice to say the original seller gets sued..and the buyer gets more than his money back...its called the "sales description act"

[jacon4]

Cogar, yeah, poplar is a great wood for furniture building, no doubt. When used as a primary wood, it was always PAINTED! and, unfortunately, during the 60s craze of stripping old furniture of it's paint, many 17th, 18th and 19th century american pieces, lost their paint decoration.

"A But..when you google whitewood you get Spruce"

bigwul, google is not the definitive word on something like that, many species can and are referred to as "whitewood". What i am trying to say is, there is no tree species "whitewood". It's really a generic term.

[cogar]

But, but Bigwull, ...... Linden or Basswood is also a "whitewood" hardwood ..... and in my opinion it is "whiter" than Poplar, Hemlock or Spruce .... but maybe not the Eastern White Pine.

To wit, Basswood boards ...

[jacon4]

How about Holly? it's about as white as you can get and cabinetmakers use it today as inlay on high end pieces.

[cogar]

OOPS, you are right, I forgot about Holly. 

[Rauville]

Congratulations!...That's a beautiful piece, you must be as proud as a new parent.

(I was just looking at an online catalog for an upcoming auction in MD, and see they have an interesting sounding early chest. 1677...I don't even think I find rocks that old around here.
"Estimate: $2,000-$4,000
Exceedingly Rare and Important Pilgrim Century American White Pine Chest with Elaborate Carving Incorporating Stars, Inscribed "A.C" and "A.W.," Dated 1677, possibly New York State or New Jersey, the front with chip-carved decoration of five-pointed stars and geometric designs, the midsection bearing the carved initials "A.C." and "A.W." flanking the date "1677" within carved diamond borders, interspersed with four-pointed stars within diamond borders. Old dark green painted surface. Hand-forged iron handles...")
 

[bigwull]

I do know that there is,nt a whitewood tree,.i,m not that dumb!.....over here its a Spruce tree,that gives whitewood...not a poplar, holly, or whatever other split hair you can name...as for google being the definitive word..i,d never heard of google when i first went to the timber merchants 40 odd years ago,..and was told then,,,, that whitewood came from Spruce, or Silver Fir....and yellow pine comes from Oregon pine..or as we call it Douglas fir....to me its like ..black is black and white is white....there,s no in between...If it says whitewood comes from Spruce/silver fir then thats where it comes from.....simples... .


Exceedingly Rare and Important Pilgrim Century American White Pine Chest
Rauville ..there are times when i could hug you....Oh..and yer big book.. .

[jacon4]

 Congratulations!...That's a beautiful piece, you must be as proud as a new parent.

Rauville, THANKS! yes, i am and eagerly await my time to "paw over" this piece under 1000 watts of halogen light.

Yeah, the piece you refer to is a blanket chest coming up for sale by Crocker Farm who specialize in stoneware. They have already alerted every antiquarian in the country, trust me.

http://www.crockerfarm.com/maryland-auction/2013-05-04/lot-323/Important-American-Pilgrim-Century-Blanket-Chest-Dated-1677/

Theres another piece coming up at Brunk in Asheville, a 17th century oak chest that they attribute to the mason-messenger shop which i think is wrong, i say it was carved by thomas dennis and therefore an opportunity to get a piece by the most celebrated american joiner of the 17th century.

http://www.brunkauctions.com/lot-detail/?id=94982

I would add that these auction estimates are pure marketing BS and ridiculously low, they are designed to create a MAJOR BUZZ among those that might be interested.

[cogar]

I do know that there is,nt a whitewood tree,.i,m not that dumb!.....over here its a Spruce tree,that gives whitewood...not a poplar, holly, or whatever other split hair you can name...as for google being the definitive word..i,d never heard of google when i first went to the timber merchants 40 odd years ago,..and was told then,,,, that whitewood came from Spruce, or Silver Fir....and yellow pine comes from Oregon pine..or as we call it Douglas fir....to me its like ..black is black and white is white....there,s no in between...If it says whitewood comes from Spruce/silver fir then thats where it comes from.....simples... .

AAAWWW, .... Bigwull, ise couda probably done told you the same thing that lumberyardy man told you 40 years ago iffen you had just ask me.

You sezee, I knew that yor kinfolk and others, .... and especially those English blokes had done cut down most all of the timber in the British Isles long before you were born ..... and the King done laid claim to all the biggest n' best Pine timber in Colonial New England for ship building ..... which resulted in the Pine Trees War or Pine Tree Riots, ... whichever ya wanna call it, .... against Great Britian in 1772, to wit:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Tree_Riot   

  (da Devil made me do da)

[bigwull]

That,s the English fur ye..you can never trust an Englishman...well, maybe i,m being a wee bit harsh..on the man in the street,..its their "nobility"that ye cannae trust...you jist have tae look at a their big stately hooses, tae ken whaur they got a the money tae build them....aff the backs o, the pare peasants...and ..they,re still at it today....me,me,me,...take,take,take,.....its nae wonder Scotland is looking tae break away....its oor oil, but them thieving Scallywags doon in London...take it all,...

[jacon4]

Alrighty then, after being out of town for 3 weeks, i finally was able to accept delivery of this chest this past saturday, as they were unloading it the first thing i noticed is, "Squiggles" painted on the moulding below the lid.

Anyone know the origin on this type of painted decoration, you see it in american 17th century painted pieces, did they do this in europe i wonder or this is an american quirk/fad in the 17th century?

[Ipcress]

No, you wouldn't see marks like that on British furniture from that period. Maybe carved bands or panels that looked similar
Parquetry or inlay on some Indian or South American pieces from that era and i guess that's where the influence came from.

[mart]

That's really odd !!  Only time I have seen similar is in a faux finishing technique !!  Mostly used to decorate less expensive boxes and such !!  Haven`t seen anything on painted pieces like this !!  Usually done with a wash and whatever tool was at hand !!

[jacon4]

No, you wouldn't see marks like that on British furniture from that period.

Yeah, i didnt think that there was english painted decoration like that. It's quite common in american 17th century pieces though, native american inspired perhaps?

SQUIGGLES, lol, it's so odd in a way and delightful at the same time. When you look at this chests paint decoration, it's very precise and geometric  however, this guy worked squiggles in there anyway on the cornice below the lid.