Pink Enigma

by J. Green
(Hammond, LA)

I recently inherited a dresser that has turned out to be an enigma. My grandmother bought it for $6 in north Louisiana 70 years ago. My aunt, who helped pack it home, said that it is presently in the same shape (i.e., not refinished, repainted, or repaired) as when grandmother acquired it in 1938. The photo montage shows various aspects of the dresser. The mirror is beveled along the outside edges. The pink paint has coarse sand in it, giving it a sandpaper finish. The insides of several of the legs have straight saw marks and there are saw ledges in the mirror frame curves where the craftsman didn't dress the cuts. The iron drawer pulls are held in place by eye-bolts with square nuts on back. The front boards of the drawers are dovetailed with evenly spaced dovetails. Sand mortar was used to fill the grooves in the legs (uprights?) below where the boards on the side were mortised. Mortar was also used to fill the counter-sunk nail holes in the dresser. I would guess that the dresser is made out of elm or maple. All indications point to it being hand-made. The nearest I can determine, based on the construction of the sides, is that the dresser is an original Shaker. However, I am not certain. Any help identifying the style, age, and value would be appreciated. If anybody knows when sand was used in paint to produce this type of finish, that would help.