I wish I could tell you all about it but I can only guess… Probably dates back at least to the 1950’s. The wood used might help date it? Although plywood has been around since the Civil War days, and veneering has been around long before that. The patina it has certainly suggests even an earlier date but again, I’m not sure there is any way to give this an exact date so I’ll stick with my guess of the “1950’s”. It has such a nice warm soft glow about it from many, many years of being taken care of that no one ever has or ever or could ever possibly replicate. Whenever this was built it must have truly been a treasured item. This could serve for so many different purposes. I have an idea towards that end though. I’m certainly not suggesting this is that old, but I do believe it’s possible this was modeled after one of those old blanket chests. Perhaps by a father who only wanted the best for his little girl. Kind of makes sense since this is clearly 50-60-70 years old and still very clean. This box is is 11 5/8″ wide, 7 1/8″ front to back, and sits 6 1/2 tall. Inside measurements are 9 15/16″ wide, 5 7/16″ front to back, and 5 3/4 top to bottom. The top takes up 1 3/8 of that. This box was made with what appears to be 1/4 plywood. Must of been great quality plywood because the box is so very straight yet. A birdseye maple veneer was applied that actually matches the plywood color used extremely well. Top and bottom hardwood maple trim was used that accents the box veneer beautifully. The veneer has such a nice warm glow to it that is only improved by the aging marks and nicks and light cracking, all of which combined give the box just a gorgeous well taken care of vintage look to it. The bad, if you’d call it that… On the very front, in the very upper right corner, right on the corner is a tiny portion of the veneer that has slightly separated. If you use the proper glue, this could very easily be put back into place, clamped and you’d never know that small problem existed. The only other thing you might consider a problem is that a few of the screws at some point must have come loose in the hinges. Some previous owner, instead of taking the time to fill the screw holes with wood and glue and then simply re-screwed the hinges back on instead drilled a small hole through and put what appears to be a #6 or #8 threaded screw/nut on to hold it. While that’s not the way I personally would have fixed it, it worked and other than a few nuts showing it has held it together very well. Thing is, there is nothing wrong with this box that cannot be fixed if you want it back to perfect again. I personally love these little “defects”. They give it a character, they give it a story if you will. Please, check out my photo’s. Just such a gorgeous collectible box of old. Nothing hidden, it is as nice and clean as it appears to be. Comes out of a NON smoking home. Last, I might mention I do not believe this box has ever been refinished. The inside shows no signs at all of ever been finished to begin with, and had someone refinished it you’d certainly notice where finish was spilled or smeared inside. A question I often get on items I love so much. I have used this for storing precious metals. For that, you need a nice clean dry place to store them. My collection has outgrown this box and has been moved into a bank safety deposit box. I no longer have use for this. I could find another use but I also have three children in college at the moment and every little bit helps, not to mention I have brought way too much home over the years! Still, pretty certain I will regret letting this go at some point but my loss will be your gain. Thank you for taking a look at one of my listings, and for reading my long winded description! The item “Antique Birdseye Maple Custom Handmade Jewelry Box Miniature Blanket Chest” is in sale since Thursday, October 24, 2019. This item is in the category “Antiques\Decorative Arts\Woodenware\Boxes”. The seller is “newparts4u” and is located in East Dubuque, Illinois. This item can be shipped to United States.
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