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areall relatively Blanketchests hechestis oneof theearliest beginning witha rectangusimilar, typesof furniture,withalong larcarcase andahingedtop.Dimenutilitariantradition.Duringthe guideline sionsvarybutasageneral served asthe MiddleAges,chests a lengthof 40to 45inchconsider primaryreceptacles of household anda es,awidthof i8 to 20inches, Theywere also goodsandvaluables. Thecarheightofabout25inches. calleduponto performdoubleduty caseis madefrompanelsof edgeplace,at a timewhen asa seating with gluedboardsandassembled chairswerealuxuryformostpeople. joindovetail or frame-and-panel Althoughearlychestdesigns routedwood ery.Thetop features wereprimitive,medievalartisans withsliding stripsthatareattached Abiscuitjoiner cutsa slotin themiteredend oftenadornedthemwith carved joints (page91); or amolddovetail of the blanketchest'smoldedbase.Thebaseis chivalricand arches andelaborate ing canbe cut into its edge(page DuringtheRenais- rabbetedto acceptthecarcaseof thechestand battlescenes. thetopfromwarp92).Toprevent thebracketfeet arethenscrewedto the base. sanceand Baroqueperiods,the touch,wood ing,andasadecorative piecebeganto assume someof the for stiffening(page 92).Thetop can canbefastened thatarestillusedtoday,includingframe-and-panel battens elements withapianohinge(page88)orbuttbnges(page89). joinery,moldedtopsandbases, bracketfeet. beattached andpatterned for makingbasemoldingandbracketfeet Thetechniques hardware wasadded,suchasbrass Overtheyears,attractive onpage93.Youmight arediscussed starting forablanket chest locks,handles, andescutcheons. feet;thesemakea fitting instead to installogeebracket In ColonialAmerica,thechestwasusuallyplacedat the choose box blanket andarmoires aswell.Installing quilts,andlinens-hencethe baseforbookcases footof a bedto storeblankets, isshownstartingon page100.Theseitemsprovide thepieceis usedto storeevery- hardware nameblanketchest.Today, to carefully touchandshouldbechosen arebuilt thefinaldecorative thingfromtoysandclothingto books.Manychests designofyourproject. theparticular complement for additionalstoraqe. with drawers
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chest,with itspatternedfeet Thistraditionaldovetailed and moldedtopand bottom,is basedon a designimportEuropein the18thCentury. ed toAmericafrom eastern
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