Antique Australian cedar chest of drawers

Australian cedar, also known as red cedar or Toona ciliata, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia. It is known for its high-quality timber, which has a distinctive red color, fine grain, and a pleasant aroma. In the 19th century, Australian cedar was widely used in the manufacture of furniture, particularly in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The timber was considered to be a highly desirable material for furniture making due to its strength, durability, and natural resistance to rot and insects. It was also relatively easy to work with and could be finished to more... a high standard and was used to make a wide range of furniture items, including tables, chairs, wardrobes, and chests of drawers.

Australian cedar furniture was particularly popular in the Victorian era and was considered to be of very high quality. However, over-harvesting of the tree led to a decline in the availability of the timber and as a result, the use of Australian cedar in furniture making decreased in the 20th century. Today, Australian cedar furniture is considered to be quite rare and valuable by collectors. less...

Until the mid-19th century, the standard chest had either four long, or three long and two short drawers. Rarely were there any exceptions to this rule. A chest with three drawers, or a series of small upper drawers, purporting to be Georgian, will probably have been converted from a chest-on-chest or tallboy. It is true that the 18th century commode often contain two long deep drawers, but this was a much grander and more decorative piece altogether, intended for drawing rooms, not bedrooms, and in any case was usually made to stand on legs. The standard chest more... of drawers continued to be made throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries (some Edwardian pine chests even had bracket feet), but variations were introduced during the mid-Victorian period, with some chests having seven or more drawers usually a deep hat drawer and smaller glove compartments. Chests with barley-sugar twist or split bobbin-turned supports date from the mid-19th century. less...