November 4, 20205 yr Popular Post I think I may have posted this story before when this web site was just getting started. Many years ago my wife asked me to either toss an old chest or paint it. I asked her what color and she suggested that I antique it. Which I did. She filled it up with her crafts, quits and other fabric things. Fast forward 30 (?) years. It is looking kinda bad and she suggested I toss it so she can find a new, nice one. I told her that I wanted to try stripping it and look at the wood. After I got it down to near bare wood, I noticed a red original finish on it. That puzzled me. I asked about it and did research on it. It turned out to be made in the early USA, patterned after a British chest made of fine Cherry. It was made of available wood and stained to look British. But that was far from being the biggest surprise. I saw something inside under a shelf that looked like writing. I got a light and stuck my head down to read it. "To my little girl Karen" 1952. I called my wife to see the strange writing I found. When she read it, she had tears in her eyes. She didn't remember getting it as a gift and the value of this chest became incalculable.
November 4, 20205 yr Very happy you found that before it was tossed, what are the plans for it now? btw, I would like to see a pic of it, sounds like an unusual chest.
November 4, 20205 yr Author Popular Post I have a picture of the stripped down chest and the writing somewhere in my files. However it will be simpler to just take another picture. You can still see the reddish tinge of the original red stain and the hand made joints. It looks like it was used for many things, including a kids toy box..........that's how my kids used it. Edited November 4, 20205 yr by Ron Altier sp
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