Zoar, Ohio Chest of Drawers with Extensive Documentation

Zoar, Ohio handmade child's chest of drawers

This Zoar, Ohio handmade child’s chest of drawers was sold at a recent auction. What makes this chest so unique is the extreme documentation it carries, including pencil inscribed drawers with figural drawings and one of a military camp plus personal inscriptions. The chest is signed on the top right drawer, “Made at Zoar Furniture Trust Co Warren County Ohio in 1900 by J. Emerson”. Although the date of 1900 is late, this piece gives us the full who, what, where, when and why of its history.  It even tells us that the builder was a proud member of Co E, 23 KY, USA and shows him on picket duty. Civil War?

Inscription on the side of one of the drawers: "Made at Zoar Furniture Trust Co Warren County Ohio in 1900 by J. Emerson."

Note: The origin of this chest is not to be confused with the German Separatist commune located at the town of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. In Warren County, Zoar is an unincorporated place in northern Hamilton Township between Hopkinsville and Morrow and south of South Lebanon in the Virginia Military District survey 1546. This Zoar community was one of the earliest settlements in this area, having been founded before 1847.

View the auction record for this chest at Prices4Antiques.com. Sign-in or subscribe for sales history.