Accession Number

986.004.a-f

Description

A black walnut chest of drawers. There are three main stacked drawers and two smaller ones at the top. Each drawer has applied burled-walnut panels and there are similar panels applied to the tall thin corners of the carcass. The hand-carved handles take the form of leaves with acorns. There are four brass casters. On the back of the chest, a paper label is nailed, bearing the retailer and/or maker's name, Weiler Bros., and the handwritten name, "Dunsmuir".

Narrative

This chest of drawers retailed and possibly also made in Victoria, B.C. was probably once part of a suite of bedroom furniture comprised of a matching bed, a dressing table, a commode, a washstand and a chest of drawers. 

The name "Dunsmuir" hand-written on the paper label on the back of this chest might indicate that it was once owned by Robert and Joan Olive Dunsmuir or by James and Laura Miller Dunsmuir.  However, there were other Dunsmuir families on Vancouver Island in the late 19th Century, and so, attribution to Craigdarroch's Dunsmuirs is speculative 

History of Use

The seller of the chest of drawers to The Castle Society acquired it from Agnes Dean Cameron, a well-known school teacher in Victoria.

The label on the back of the chest confirms that it was once owned by a person named Dunsmuir. It is likely, but not certain, that the chest's first owner was Robert or James Dunsmuir.  It was made circa 1875, which means that it could have been used by Robert and Joan Dunsmuir at Ardoon in Nanaimo, Fairview in Victoria, and at Craigdarroch Castle. Alternatively, it could  have been used by James and Laura Dunsmuir at Wellington, at their Departure Bay house, at Burleith, and finally, at Hatley Park. 

Date

circa 1875

Dimensions

103 x 47 x 85.5 cm

Material

Wood, walnut

Technique

Sawn; Varnished; Carved

School/Style

Renaissance Revival

Inscription

Printed in black ink on the paper nailed to the back:
FROM JOHN WEILER, MANUFACTURER OF FURNITURE, IMPORTERS OF CROCKERY, GLASSWARE & HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. Fell's Block, Fort St., Victoria.

Handwritten in pencil on the label, above the printed portion:
Dunsmuir

Country of Origin

Canada