High chests and dressing-tables were made of maple, often very beautifully marked, in the same style as the chests of walnut and cherry. The high chest was sometimes made with the drawers extending nearly to the floor, and mounted upon bracket, ogee, or claw-and-ball feet. This was called a double chest, or chest-upon-chest.
The double chest in Illustration [20] is in the Warner house at Portsmouth. It is of English walnut, and the lower part is constructed with a recessed cupboard like the writing-table in Illustration [106]. The handles upon this chest are very massive, and upon the ends of both the upper and lower parts are still larger handles with which to lift the heavy chest.
Illus. 21.—Mahogany Double Chest, 1765.
A double chest which was probably made in Newport, Rhode Island, about 1760-1770, is shown in Illustration [21]. The lower part is blocked and is carved in the same beautiful shells as Illustration 31 and Illustration 106. This double chest was made for John Brown of Providence, the leader of the party who captured the Gaspee in 1772, and one of the four famous Brown brothers, whose name is perpetuated in Brown University. This chest is now owned by a descendant of John Brown, John Brown Francis Herreshoff, Esq., of New York.
Illus. 22.—Block-front Dressing-table, about 1750.