Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/177

 gilt leather, the cabinet, and the sealskin. The chests were the principal receptacles of the most costly articles of clothing, many doubtless being highly ornamented. In them were placed the linen not in use, the garments of the past season, the fine dresses which were brought out only on special occasions, trinkets of value, and in some instances, plate. The substitute for the modern bureau was the case of drawers with a looking-glass fixed to its top. These glasses were of various sizes. There was also the detached looking-glass, which was often inserted in an olive wood frame. The chairs were made after several different fashions. There were the rush chair, the name derived from the material of which the seat was woven; the calfskin chair, which was doubtless the plainest in appearance; the Russian leather chair and the Turkey-worked chair. The Russian leather chair, the chair of the most costly manufacture, was found in all the dwellings in which there was any pretension to an unusual degree of comfort. In some houses, as many as two dozen were observed. The Turkey-worked chair was one the seat of which was covered with cloth highly ornamented with embroidered figures. In addition to these, there was the large wicker chair, the small wooden chair, with a bottom woven of white oak strips, and the cane chair, the plain stool, and the joint stool.

The fireplace was guarded by fenders of iron or tin. On the hearth stood andirons of brass or iron, those of the latter material not infrequently weighing as much as fifty-six pounds. They often represented dogs with brass