Thursday, December 4, 2008

Things Worth Having: The Studley Tool Chest



From the endless delight that is wikipedia:

"Henry O. Studley (1838-1925) was an organ and piano maker, carpenter, and mason who worked for the Smith Organ Co., and later for the Poole Piano Company of Quincy, Massachusetts. Born in 1838 in Lowell, Massachusetts, Studley is best known for creating the so called Studley Tool Chest, a wall hanging tool chest which cunningly holds some 300 tools in a space that takes up about 40 inches by 20 inches of wall space when closed. Studley joined the Massachusetts Infantry at the start of the Civil War and was captured in Galveston, Texas in 1863. After the war he returned to Quincy and joined the Rural Masonic Lodge. He died in 1925 and was remembered in his obituary in the Quincy Patriot-Ledger for his remarkable tool chest, among his other achievements.

When closed and hanging on a wall it takes up an area of approximately 39 inches by 20 inches with a 9 inch depth, and opens up to become a 40 inch by 40 inch tool chest. The chest is made out of mahogany, rosewood, walnut, ebony, and mother of pearl, materials which were probably taken from the Poole Piano Company's scrap material. The fine craftsmanship is exhibited by the fact that each tool fits snugly into its space, often with an audible click as the tool snaps into its closely-fit cavity. Sections of the chest swing out of the case in order to allow access to a second, and even third layer of tools."

Nnnnngggh.

That is one covet worthy object. And the fact that there is only one in existence makes the coveting that much sweeter.

Imagine if everything in the Sharper Image catalog looked like this, or was made to last like this?
That's one catalog I'd happily subscribe to.

Is there anything out there like a Sharper Image but for heirloom quality objects?
Must research.

Just found something interesting out: Henry Studley, shortly before his death in 1925, decided that the best thing to do with the tool chest he had spent thirty years perfecting would be to give it to a friend... Awwwww.

First saw mention of the Studley on notcot.

1 comment:

Christine Norrie said...

Exceptional posting on SuperForest today...

If I had the Studley Tool Chest, I could imagine no one else worthier to own it than me. I mean, you. Totally you.