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Registered: Mar 2003

posted 01-29-2012 10:39 PM            

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The pulls on the drawers of this chest are interesting to me as they show a hen with eight chicks. Not a very common theme on drawer pulls. These pulls are on a chest that arrived in the U.S. from England in 1982, but beyond that I have no knowledge as to how long they have been on this chest. The drawers have evidence that other drawer pulls were on it at one time so these may not be the original pulls.

Has anyone other examples of birds, animals or the like used on drawer pulls or any idea as to when pulls of this type were used?

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posted 04-26-2012 11:40 AM            

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The above pictures are from an interesting book by Donald L. Fennimore entitled “Metalwork in Early America Copper and its Alloys”. The hen with her chickens pull by Thomas Hands and William Jenkins is very similar to the scene on my friend’s chest however the attachment of the handle to the base plate is different and some of the detail in the scene is missing. Fennimore speculates that the hen and chickens may have been inspired by a sign hanging outside Mary Lloyd’s Hen and Chickens Inn in New Street, Birmingham.

A variety of scenes on cabinet handles are shown in Fennimore’s book all attributed to English makers. I suppose that this metalwork were on objects made in the U.S. as I think much of early brass work was exported into the U.S. during this time period. Fennimore notes that Thomas Fletcher visited England in 1815 and Fletcher indicated that he would like to stamp brass in the U.S. except for the high capital required to start and also the high cost of labor. I did not realize that labor cost more in the U.S. than England at this time.

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posted 04-27-2012 07:38 AM            

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I like this thread... I wish I had something to contribute. Thanks for opening my eyes.

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posted 04-28-2012 12:24 PM            

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Glad you liked it Scott. The May 2012 issue of Maine Antique Digest referenced the hen and chickens handle by Hands and Jenkins and the book by Donald Fennimore. This book is still available and I am glad I brought it. The items in the book have the percentage of the different metals used. I think Winterthur may have started doing this for metals or DuPont may have invented the machine that does the analysis.

There has been marked interest in fresh eggs in recent years and Martha Steward has featured several varieties of hens on her show. We have several friends that have backyard chickens and have one friend that sells the eggs (if you can get on her list). In our neighborhood you can have hens if you keep them 150 feet from your neighbor’s home. Luckily no roosters are allowed.

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