Tall Chest
Chippendale style, 1770-1800
Mid-Atlantic Region
Since the bedchambers of 18th century houses, even large ones such as Hampton, did not have built in closets, a variety of pieces of furniture were required for clothes storage. The tall chest is like an enlarged form of the standard chest of drawers and typically has three small drawers across the top. The woods and design point to a mid-Atlantic origin. Chests of this type were made in southern Pennsylvania and central Maryland. The original owner may have been Capt. Charles Ridgely, the builder of Hampton, or his nephew and heir Governor Charles Carnan Ridgely. The chest descended through the line of the Governor’s daughter Priscilla Hill Ridgely who married Stevenson White.
Walnut, yellow pine. H141.5, W 103.5, D 58.8 cm
Hampton National Historic Site, HAMP 6035