How The Mission Style Blanket Chest Came To Be

The Philosophical Backdrop: The Arts and Crafts Movement

To understand the chest, you must first understand the movement that spawned it. In late 19th-century Britain, thinkers like John Ruskin and William Morris revolted against the Industrial Revolution. They believed:

• Machinery dehumanized labor: Factory work was alienating and soul-crushing for the worker.
• Victorian design was decadent: The era was known for overly ornate, mass-produced, and often poorly made goods that prioritized showiness over function.
• “Truth to Materials”: A craftsman should work in harmony with the material, allowing its natural qualities to show. A joint should be visible and celebrated, not hidden.

This philosophy crossed the Atlantic and found a fertile home in the United States.

The American Catalyst: Gustav Stickley

While several designers worked in this new style, Gustav Stickley was its most influential evangelist. After a trip to Europe, where he was inspired by the British Arts and Crafts leaders, he completely reinvented his furniture business.

In 1901, he launched his magazine, The Craftsman, which became the bible of the American movement. In its pages, he laid out his philosophy for what he called “Craftsman” or “Mission” furniture (the latter name was a marketing term, suggesting a connection to the simple, honest furniture of early Spanish missions in California).

The Design Philosophy Applied to the Blanket Chest

The blanket chest was a perfect form for Stickley’s ideals. It was utilitarian, common in almost every home for storing linens and blankets. By reimagining it, he could demonstrate his principles clearly:

• Simplicity and Rectilinearity: The chest is fundamentally a box. Mission style emphasizes strong, straight lines and rectangular forms, rejecting the curves and carvings of previous styles.
• Honesty of Construction: Joints, especially the through-tenon, are not hidden. They extend past the vertical stiles and are often wedged, proudly displaying how the piece is put together. This was the core of the “truth to materials” philosophy.
• Quality of Materials: Stickley and his contemporaries used dense, solid American white oak. It was strong, durable, and had a prominent, beautiful grain.
• Celebration of Wood Grain: The wood was almost always finished with fumed ammonia or a dark wood stain. The fuming process (exposing the oak to ammonia vapors) chemically reacted with the tannins in the wood, bringing out a rich, warm, brown color and highlighting the grain pattern without obscuring it under a glossy varnish.
• Function Over Ornament: Decoration was derived from the structure itself (like the tenons) or from subtle elements like hammered metal hardware (straps, hinges, and pulls). Any “art” was in the quality of the craftsmanship, not applied decoration.

Key Design Features of a Classic Mission Blanket Chest

If you look at an original Gustav Stickley blanket chest, you will typically see:

• Solid Quartersawn White Oak: Quartersawing reveals the oak’s characteristic “tiger stripe” or “ray flake” patterns, which were highly prized.
• Through-Tenon Construction: The most iconic feature, where the horizontal rails pass through the vertical posts and are pinned with wedges.
• Hammered Copper or Iron Hardware: The metalwork was hand-hammered, emphasizing the human touch and contrasting beautifully with the wood.
• A Low, Stable Profile: The chests were designed to feel grounded and substantial.
• A Clear, Matte Finish: The famous “Craftsman” finish was warm, satiny, and tactile.

Other Key Makers and Legacy

While Stickley was the most famous, he was not alone. Other important workshops created their own versions of the Mission blanket chest:

• The Roycrofters: Founded by Elbert Hubbard in East Aurora, New York, their pieces are often heavier and more robust, marked with the Roycroft orb symbol.
• L. & J.G. Stickley: Gustav’s brothers, who continued producing quality Mission furniture after his company’s bankruptcy.
• Limbert Furniture Co.: Charles Limbert’s designs sometimes incorporated more subtle curves and cut-out patterns, like his signature “heart” cutout.

The original Arts and Crafts movement waned after World War I, but the Mission blanket chest never fully disappeared. It saw a major revival in the 1970s and 1980s as collectors rediscovered the style, and it remains a popular design for both high-end reproductions and mass-market furniture today.

Brian Benham

I’m the owner of Benham Design Concepts, a mixed media art studio where I design and build custom furniture and other works of art using wood, glass, stone, and various metals.
In this blog, I talk about the art I create, my journey, and the things I learn along the way.