Featured Help dating Pennsylvania Dutch/Norwiegan painted blanket chest

...which (all) look as handmade ones. So about 150+ years old. If so then a deciding indicator.
No one uses antique handmade screws anymore (nowhere for sale), especially not for (late 20th cent.) mass production. Perhaps a scarce good faker, but mostly those lack enough or forget this detail and choose for easy to distinguish much cheaper and higly available machine made ones (often artificial oldered but still easy to distinguish).


I would have to look better at the full scews to be sure, but they almost for sure look handmade. And it's difficult to see on image if the hinge is handmade.

Easy to distinguish modern screws that was.

 

Sorry, but I can’t let this be last word on hardware. I strongly disagree, in fact hardware is one reason this was clearly 20th century to me. Hinges shown are mass produced of steel, and screws also mass produced steel. Competent cabinet maker from 19th century would not have access to this type of five knuckle steel hinge, and if he did would not use them in this way for a large chest. I assume you are being misled by darkness of picture, and paint slopped onto hinges.

For contrast, here is a pic of a hinge from the rear of a period Penn Dutch chest I own, clearly hand forged (folded over and forge welded) and riveted on, to last hundreds of years (so far)

 

Jeff, did you forget the pic?

 

As wlwhittier said, modern screws aren't oval and have the slot in the middle.
Antique handmade screws exist in copper/brass, and iron.
Each antiquer knows to look at connections, including also important screw details.
I think i see antique screws.

With that i did say my last word on this. I won't discuss anymore. I promessed.

 

Whew!

 

Yep, but it should be there now. BTW, pictured outside of hinge is 8" long; inside even longer. Contrast with 3/4" length hinge on OP chest both sides. Made in 20th century for 3/4" wood available from lumber yards - but not made to last.

 

I'm not offended; say all you want. But maybe start with what you mean by oval screws - all circles look like ovals when seen from an angle.

 

OH my GOODNESS! I had no idea that there would be so much discussion on this thread! Wholly moley! I had a houseful of company over the Holidays and it isn't over yet...New Years... I hadn't checked the internet in days!
SO... I think what I need to do is to go down (we are planning a trip down to see my sister in February if not before) and I'll go do an eyeball on exam and take some more accurate photos. Now my curiosity is TRULY piqued! Thanks one and all, I'm going to re-read this whole thread!
Wow!
Leslie

 

Have fun, and take some time off in between the fun to recharge the batteries if needed.

 

On an oval-head screw the face is slightly curved, as opposed to a flat head or a round head...the term has nothing to do with angle of viewing, or perspective; it describes the configuration of the upper end of the screw. They were and are commonly used in finished cabinetry & furniture applications. Sorry for the misunderstanding...

 

Ok, then this is an even sillier conversation then. Oval-head screws of that type were certainly not made until the 20th century, and would never be used on hinges that need to close flush, not to mention the ones in the pics are not oval headed anyway!

 

Yes. But smaller up/down. Not left/right. Depth view.
Look again.

It's not only the oval heads. Read back please.

This is not as silly as you think
Buy i won't explain it anymore as it has no use with endlessly discussing people who name such relevant information "silly". That's to simple.

 

BTW, on that i dissagree with good reasons.

I agree on this.
Whatever I promissed to stop discussing.
Over and out

 

Yup...me, too.
This has taken on the nature of an extended Fiasco.
I'm outta here!

 

I agee. I'm gone too
Oeps sorry, i already was gone

 

Look, @wlwhittier and @Woutinc , either you think you have a valid point and want to discuss this, or you want to get the final word and run away. Hopefully the former. Trust me, this trunk has already gotten much more discussion from me than it deserves and I would be happy to stop talking about it. This is a site to talk about antiques, and this trunk is no antique. But I’ll try once more to respond to your arguments, though I have a feeling it will fall on deaf ears.

 

First, @wlwhittier .

You made a confusing statement here, when you called this a “oval flat-head screw”. No wonder there is confusion, because there is no such thing: it is either an oval-head screw or a flat-head screw. It can’t be both. That said, you seem to agree this hinge with screws is a modern pattern, and on that we agree. I don’t care when in the 20th century this trunk was made, but think @Any Jewelry had it about right in the 1970s, when slotted screws still would have been the default. Just note that hinges like these do not come with oval-head screws, because the oval head would stand above the hinge and prevent the hinge from closing flat. OK, can we agree on these things?

 

Now @Woutinc , I’m afraid we really disagree substantially. You posted two pictures, but they in no way prove what you think they do. Your first pic is absolutely of an antique handmade screw (and I have seen many of them, I even posted a pic of one on this forum years ago from a Queen Anne tea table I own). But this antique screw in your pic is a flat-head screw, and more importantly, it has no relation to the OP chest. Your second pic is of an antique gun with a hand made flat-head screw with hand engraving, but again this has no relevance to the OP chest. What you are ignoring is the OP chest, and the new hinges on that chest (with new flat-head screws) and decoration that I think @Any Jewelry nailed completely as being from the 1970s.

 

@Jeff Drum
The problem is that YOU keep stuck hanging in YOUR definition of 'oval', why you totally miss the detailed point @wlwhittier and i are mentioning.
You can talk a lot and as much as you want, but you still totally overlook our attention (silly angle comment ) and no one gives a relevant convincing explanation for that.
It's simply avoided as if it's not there, but it is there
Everyone who wants to see it can see it itself at the image. If not i would even point it out more and explain more of asked frendly.
--No one askes!! Only denies as hard as he/she can!!)--

You can't win a discussion by simply avoiding clear actual facts
Explain the oval heads (MY oval, not yours) and the slots, and CONVINCE ME!! ... and i will admit immidiatly. I do dare to admit my wrong if neseccairy.

I would say look again. Read back. As all is explained, more then once. And it is not that hard to see
Plain simple questions to answer!!
Is this screw perfectly round (machinery modern) or oval (handmade antique)? And the slot?

And is this other screw nice round (machinery modern) or oval (handmade antique)? And the slot?

And ... are all the screws on this chest exact perfect the same to eachother, as modern machine mades are? Or each one different from the other as antique handmades are?

And now i'm going to sit back and see who's going to say these are perfectly made round screws, and who confesses otherwise. I expect a meaningful screamingly silence, especially no confessions. ;popcorn:

As i promissed to not discus, so i can't and won't
Still 1970s? Fine for me. The end.

 

PS: This was really the last thing i discussed in any discussion, here or any other topic.
As it starts to annoy me, and that's not going to happen. I will keep lauching, always
If one has questions or doubts he can ask friendly and i will answer decent (see other topics were people do ask and sometimes even compliment my decent reactions).
If not, then not