Fashionable Gilded Age Bridal Chests

“… These the up to date girl holds in disdain. Her chest must be really antique, of carved oak of English or Flemish make, or elaborately inlaid with marquetry of colored woods and dated or initialed with figures and characters eloquent of other times and manners.”

The Dower Chest

In Holland, the dower chest once formed a part of every bride’s equipment. Less portable, but more sightly than the Saratoga trunk, it fulfilled its purpose with grace and dignity, passing down as an heirloom from generation to generation. The modern chest is an easy thing to secure, but these the up to date girl holds in disdain. Her chest must be really antique, of carved oak of English or Flemish make, or elaborately inlaid with marquetry of colored woods and dated or initialed with figures and characters eloquent of other times and manners.There are very few of the genuine old fashioned dower chests to be seen on this side of the Atlantic. One of them in this city is a very massive affair, weighing several hundred pounds.—Buffalo Commercial, 1894

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