Narrow Secretaire Military Chest

The size of this mahogany Secretaire Campaign Chest is unlike any other we have seen before.

The dimensions are similar to a domestic Wellington Chest with the width less than two thirds of a standard chest and the height much greater. It is tall and narrow. The top section has two plain drawers above a secretaire. The secretaire is set at a height for you to sit at and very similar to that which you might find on a standard sized campaign chest. As you might expect, the drawer front is dropped by depressing two brass sprung buttons to the interior which then release catches to the fall. The secretaire drawer has an oilcloth work surface in front of three plain internal drawers faced in maple with ebonised knob handles. Above these drawers are dividers to give five pigeonholes which are topped with shaped maple facia boards.

The top two drawers are later lined in a dark green paper and there is evidence of historic restoration to the lining of the second drawer. The bottom section is a cupboard with the door disguised as two drawer fronts. The top of the door has a lock to the middle and the side has a sprung ball catch to close it. The back of the door has two bracing bars that, if not original, may have been added as a precaution at the same time the one drawer was restored.

Apart from the cupboard and size, this chest is very similar to a standard military chest. The chest splits into two parts and has removable screw in feet on wooden threads. The two sections locate to each other by four lugs set to the underside of the top half.

The unusual dimensions, along with the iron carrying handles and the removable gallery to the top, suggest that this chest was made for shipboard use. We have not seen a chest of this size before and its possibly a bespoke made piece. Circa 1875.