GUEST: This is a painted blanket chest. It's lift-top, and it's false-grained.
APPRAISER: And where did you get it?
GUEST: Um, somewhere in New England, I don't recall exactly where I got it.
APPRAISER: And how long have you had it?
GUEST: Probably about 30 years.
APPRAISER: And this is probably from northern New England, Vermont or New Hampshire, possibly even Massachusetts. It was painted in this black and red to resemble mahogany or some sort of other exotic wood not available to a rural cabinet-maker working in Vermont or New Hampshire in about 1820, when we think this was made.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: It is a lift-top two-drawer blanket chest. You might also hear it referred to in the Midwest as a mule chest. The paint has survived in very good condition over the years. It's made of poplar, and poplar shrinks and cracks, and with that, sometimes, you do tend to get paint loss, so the paint is, is in good shape, especially on the top, where you would expect it to get the most wear. One of my favorite things about it is that the grained surface is contrasted by the drawer fronts, which are smoke-decorated. The drawers would have been painted white and then scorched with an open flame to create this sort of wispy pattern of black. If this were to come to auction, it would be estimated in the $800 to $1,200 range.
GUEST: Terrific.
APPRAISER: Do you remember about what you paid for it?
GUEST: It was probably under $500.
APPRAISER: Sounds to me like you're making money on a piece of furniture, which is not what everyone can say these days.
