age of an antique dough box

[carlav]

Hello,
My husband and I inherited an antique dough box passed down from his New England family.  It is in very good condition. I wondered if someone might be able to give me a rough idea of how old it is?  I noticed that the corners are dovetailed, which makes me think it’s from the 18th century, based on what I’ve researched.

I also wondered what type of wood might have been used. Someone told me possibly poplar or pine?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[flablitz]

Can get any close ups of legs and hinges ect?

[talesofthesevenseas]

Lovely! These are quite collectable and you can see similar ones being sold on Ebay to get an idea of the value. I have been admiring these lately. If you could take a good clear close-up of the hinges, that would help a lot. What you want to see here are hand-forged iron hinges attached with hand-cut square nails. Hopefully none of the later mass-produced stuff. Dovetailing doesn't necessarily date it to the 18th century, Lots of items made today are dovetailed. Another thing to look for is any places where the wood may have shrunk over time, peg construction and differences between the legs. They do look like they were turned on a lathe, the question is if it was a manual one or an electric one. Look for signs of hand tool use versus mechanized tools (circular saw marks would indicate later manufacturing)

Wonderful to have this kind of item in your family and it is still very useful today, these look great with any rustic decor and they can be gently used for extra storage. I am envious!! 

[mart]

Wood could be poplar or maple !!  Don`t think it would be pine for a dough box as pine is a rather sappy wood and rather fragrant even when dry !! 

[waywardangler]

The pics are way too small to even begin to determine specifics on this item.

[carlav]

Thank you all for the great assistance! Here are close ups of the hinges. Interestingly, it looks like the nails used other than the ones on the hinges are hand-cut nails, and the nails on the hinges look like mass-produced kind. Perhaps the hinges were added years later?

[waywardangler]

I love the oxidized/unoxidized wood contrast on the underside of the lid! The lid supports show marks from being cut by a circular saw rather than handsawn out, so this puts it after 1800 (19th century). This would mean a power saw was used and I do not mean a modern hand held circular saw. The hinges look original to me. I do not see any other inletting from other hinges. The slotted screws do not have a centered slot so these may be hand cut slots rather than machine produced. From what I can tell, this was made sometime in the 1800s. I am not familiar with dough boxes and when they were used or went out of favor.

Here is a good site for basics. http://www.efi-costarica.com/Recognize.html  Look at the screw types toward the end. If you are going to remove one for comparison, please make sure the screwdriver blade exactly fits the slot. Too small(narrow) a blade will burr the slot and damage it and too large(wide) will not work.

[mart]

I am thinking that the wood looks like maple !!  Same as cutting boards, chopping blocks, and various other wooden kitchen items are made of today. It was always considered top quality and has been used for many years !!

[talesofthesevenseas]

I too think the hinges are original. Those don't look modern or mass-produced. Check out how off-center the thru hole for the screw on the lower hinge. Looks like a terrific bread box you have there!

[waywardangler]

The wood in the lid appears to be pine to me. Possibly fir. Not maple. Pine was a common wood to use in these from what I have read. I cannot tell what type of wood is in the legs or base.

[mart]

Could be pine I guess !!  I just did not see anything that gave me that impression !! I sort of matched it against my vintage maple rolling pin and the soft honey color and lack of dark graining or knots made me think more of maple !! Pine,, however old still smells like resin to me !! There are lots of pines here and they are not my favorite tree !!

[waywardangler]

I pine for Texas. I did not know Texas had a lot of pines. I always thought they are more of a tree of the northern forest.

[mart]

Well, we may not have as many as you do farther north but we have our share !!  But we do have mostly hardwoods, oak, elm ash, cedar and hundreds of others.  Every time a wind blows up I have to pick up pine sticks as I have one pine in the back yard !! Lightening has hit it twice and won`t kill the darn tree much as I hope it will !!

[waywardangler]

Maybe you could find someone to Stihl your pine?   

[mart]

Since it is wider than two people can reach around and too close to my bedroom for comfort,, think I will pass on that !! Although I will say that the thought of Stihling away and finding Mr. McCullough has occurred to me !!