This is a continuation of LAST APRIL’s challenge about
HEIRLOOMS. When my sister and I cleaned out our parents’ home, we had to make
many decisions about what to do with all the stuff. Which things are truly
“valuable” and which have only sentiment in their favor? Should we sell it,
keep it, or throw it away? To help ensure a future for our family’s heirlooms,
I plan to leave a booklet for my daughters telling the stories of what they
will inherit one day. (Not TOO soon, I hope!)
is for Blanket Chest. Blanket chests were popular in
the 18th and 19th centuries before closets were common. In
their simplest form, blanket chests were just a box with a hinged lid. They
were used for storing blankets, obviously, and for clothes and linens. Often
they sat at the end of the bed to keep blankets in easy reach since very few
homes had heat in the bedroom.
We don’t use the term “hope chest” much anymore, but a
hope chest was nothing more than a blanket chest filled with all the things a
bride brought to her husband - linens, dishes, cooking essentials, etc.
This blanket chest came to me from my grandaunt Violetta
Davis Ryan. I have long forgotten where it was in her home, but I distinctly
remember when I was aware of it. She asked what I would like her to leave to me.
My answer was that I was most interested in the workaday items that she kept
from her mother’s things, items like tools and kitchen gadgets. AND that
blanket chest. I’m not sure why I added the blanket chest to my wish list. It
is not very large, just a nice size in that Goldilocks kind of way. The simple
construction is handsome. Today it is in one of my daughter’s former bedroom.
There
is a smaller one in her sister’s room.
This one is not a family heirloom
though. My mother found it in an antique shop and refinished it as one of her
many summer projects. Instead of holding blankets, both chests contain some of
the things that will go to the girls’ homes when the two of them clean out this
place after Barry and I are gone.
Wendy
© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
Aren't you glad you added the Blanket Chest to your wish list? Worked out great for Letter 'B', and Aunt Violetta once again kept her name and heirloom treasures alive in your family history. I think that is special. Hope to see some of those kitchen gadgets. I had lots of stuff for my Hope Chest, but no chest...does a cardboard box count?
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
I am indeed glad. And I'm glad you had a hope chest, no matter what it was made of. I never bothered with one - I guess I had no hope.
DeleteI always enjoy your A - Z April Challenge! Did I somehow miss the "A" yesterday?
ReplyDeleteI guess you did, but you are allowed to go back. HAHA. The link is in the sidebar.
DeleteYour blanket chest is so pretty! I have no linen closet downstairs and use one at the foot of my bed for sheets.
ReplyDeleteSee - still a useful item!
DeleteI like the term blanket chest over hope chest. Both of yours that you have look nice!
ReplyDeletebetty
I suppose the idea of a "hope chest" is rather old-fashioned. Brides today have a REGISTRY instead.
DeleteI remember such a chest in my family. But which house or where it ended up, I can't remember.
ReplyDeletehttp://findingeliza.com/
Isn't that always the way. Every now and then some toy or kitchen gadget or SOMETHING pops into my head making me wonder what became of it.
DeleteMy family had cedar chests, but these blanket chests are lovely too. Vintage storage that is still useful today and preserves our heritage.
ReplyDeleteOne of the furniture stores in town used to give out mini-cedar chests to high school girls at graduation. Mine is still on my dresser. I used to keep jewelry in it, but now it has STUFF like a lock of baby hair, baby teeth, lace from my wedding gown.
DeleteAnd not only one, but two of them. I've got such a thing for wood furniture that holds and HIDES things. Love it!
ReplyDeleteHiding things is an important job of furniture! LOL
DeleteI've never heard the term blanket chest before - always hope chest. However, I have three of them (not heirlooms) and do store blankets in them. One of them also has some baby items from my kids that I'd love for them to care about but so far, zero interest.
ReplyDeleteI love your blanket box. I have something similar that I’m told held my grandfather’s belongings when he was on the railways, moving around. It also reminds me of the shipping chests that I’ve seen for Irish immigrants in the 19th century.
ReplyDelete