RARE SIGNED SHENANDOAH VALLEY OF VIRGINIA PUNCHED-TIN-PANELED YELLOW PINE AND POPLAR BLANKET SAFE, post-and-panel construction, the hinged lid over interior with lidded till raised on turned feet issuing from the stiles, three front tin panels exhibiting stylized devices, including "choppers", and corner fans, the four end panels, two on each end, exhibiting central fylfots framed by corner fans. Case retaining original red-painted surface and stenciled mark "Made / By / D. Berry" to reverse for David Berry (1817-1900), active in Rockingham Co. and Augusta Co. during the second half of the 19th century. Circa 1855. 29 1/4" H, 37 3/4" W, 24 3/4" D.
Literature: See Russ and Evans - Opening the Door: Safes of the Shenandoah Valley, p. 59, fig. 3.24 for a food / pie safe signed and dated by Berry; p. 40, fig. 3.12A for a nearly identical tin as that on the present blanket safe featuring fylfot and corner fans that is attributed to the Alexander Shop of Waynesboro, Augusta Co., VA; and p. 56, figs. 3.22B - 3.22F for very similar tin patterns to that on the ends of the present blanket safe that are typically associated with the Plains Mill area of Rockingham Co., VA.
Catalogue Note: David Berry (1817-1900), the maker of the present blanket safe, immigrated from Scotland at the age of three with his family. By 1850, he is listed as a "Carpenter" in the 1850 Census living in the New Erection community of Rockingham County, Virginia. By 1860, he appears to have moved just south to neighboring Augusta County, where he is noted over the remaining decades of the 19th century as "Cabinetmaker". Interestingly, Berry is also recorded in the account book of the Alexander cabinetmaking shop in Waynesboro, an enterprise known for its distinctive punched-tin-panel furniture; indeed, the fylfot tins on the ends of the present safe are nearly identical to those used on documented safes from the Alexander shop. What's more, the "chopper" tins on the front of the present blanket safe are clearly influenced by the designs often seen on punched-tin panels produced for case pieces in the Plains Mill area of northern Rockingham County, quite a distance from Waynesboro to the south. While the connections between David Berry, the Alexander Shop, and the Plains Mill Group are not entirely clear at present, it is nonetheless evident that the present blanket safe, which was likely used for textile storage, draws on stylistic influences from both Shenandoah Valley counties in the manufacture of a distinct form.
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Very good overall original condition with minor to moderate scattered wear, heavier to top of lid, with old saw mark. One hinge bent, preventing lid from closing flush.