Bidspirit auction | OHIO DECORATED BLANKET CHEST

OHIO DECORATED BLANKET CHEST - Jacob Werrey, German Township, Fulton County, dated 1882, poplar. Dovetailed box on turned legs, and retaining its original black over red stylized paint decoration, with green trim and feet, and stenciled basket of flowers over ”MB” and ”1882.” 28” high, 48” wide, 23” deep. The box is signed on the underside, and though it is illegible, it matches the signatures on other Werrey chests. According to tradition, this chest was made for Magdalena Baer (1867-1933), who was the daughter of John (1836-1928) and Catherine Nafziger (1846-1928). John is likely the John Baer listed in Donald Hutslar, Ohio Gunsmiths and Allied Tradesmen, v. 5, p. 257. Magdalena married twice and had no children. She lived her entire life in the Pettisville-Archbold area of Fulton County. Jacob Werrey (1838-1893) was born to German parents in Ohio and trained as a carpenter. In 1888, the Atlas of Fulton County, Ohio shows Werrey owning a small property just east of the village of Burlington, which was likely his workshop (he probably remained at home and helped on the family farm). Werrey is discussed, and this chest is referenced, in Richmond, A Tradition of Progress: Ohio Decorative Arts, 1860-1945, entry 1. Sold at Cowan?s Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 2007, lot 397. Condition: Good; slight alligatoring to areas of paint, grungy surface, spots of wear on the lid