Featured Wooden chest - from 1850’s?

Just wondering what the group thinks of this chest. As you’ll see, it has the name of a doctor painted on the side. Someone has covered this up with a piece of plexiglass and four small screws, presumably to protect it. If the name is genuine, the chest must date to before 1854. My question is, could it be this early?

 

Thanks! I found some information about this surgeon:

 

So the label is perhaps from early 1855?

 

I think probably from when he shipped out to Crimea, in May 1854.

 

Beautiful,historic piece & a great military item.Looks right to me,would present better w/ plexiglass (carefully) removed.I'd send pics to the Royal War College/Museum.
The famous/infamous 'Charge of the Light Brigade' took place at The Battle of Balaclava.
PS-Curious,did you find it at a 'Boot' or is it part of your family's history ?

 

Thank you. Yes, I will remove the ugly plexi and give it a careful clean but, otherwise, will leave it as-is.

I purchased it recently at a local farm auction. Came out of an old barn. I paid $22 Canadian for it, and it’s filled with horse tack! It was the only military item at the sale.

Found an interesting sketch of another assistant surgeon’s tent in Crimea, that shows a similar trunk in the foreground on the left, as part of the furnishings:

 

$22 fu@*#*g bucks ! Yet another reason we'd love to move to Canada !

 

I’ve taken off the plexi and, happily, have found that the wood appears to have shrunk and cracked after the chest was painted. Hopefully you can see in the attached pics that the edges of the cracked wood are unpainted, which makes me doubt the black paint and white name were added recently:

 

Somebody suggested that nails might help date this trunk. There aren’t many in it, as its construction is mostly dovetailed wood with riveted iron reinforcements, but there are some nails on the underside. These look like early curved-head cut nails to me. Would you agree?