Lane Cedar Hope Chest Valentines (1939-1945)

Good morning!

And thanks for all the well wishes on yesterday's save the date cards-- I am now fully pumped and hyped up about planning out the aesthetic (doodly) parts of the wedding! I thought I would pay you guys back for all your kind comments with the very last word in what you should be getting for your sweetheart upon tomorrow's holiday, which is Valentine's Day. Ladies and gentleman, there is no gift so appropriate in the world to show your loved one that you care than....you guessed it....a Lane Cedar hope chest.

Being an estate sale junkie and old furniture hound, I was well aware of the existence of Lane Cedar hope chests; however, I had no idea of their romantic and almost magical properties. I was searching "Valentine's Day" on Google books, with a date range of 1939-1948 (my favorite years, natch), and surprisingly, result after result was about one of two things. The first was FTD florists, reminding you that that firm's agents are as fleet of foot in delivering last minute floral arrangements as they are reasonable on the prices of said floral arrangements; the second was Lane Cedar hope chests. People! This is an aggressive ad campaign! I feel like every spread comes with the byline: "NO. SERIOUSLY. LANE CEDAR HOPE CHESTS."

The colors, the floating cherubs, the doily Valentine heart....the blonde-as-a-blonde-on-a-bag-of-Sunbeam-Bread woman and her GI beau...the "this valentine makes two hearts beat as one!" byline...what is not to like about this?  The text goes on to read: "Happiness ahead? That is what this romantic Lane Valentine gift promises. For it starts tomorrow's home where love and joy will be everlasting." Now, I know that's spreading the treacle a little thick, but think about it in terms of a wartime enfianced young woman, whose significant other is "somewhere in Europe". Her suddenly semi-flush with army pay young man can send one home as a furniture based promissory note of the housekeeping they're to set up when he returns. How sweet is that? There's a specific byline that says "To Men in Service: Write factory if name of Lane dealer where chest is to be delivered is not known" in this one, and another in the below ad that adds "It will be delivered in accordance with your wishes". Lane wants to make sure your Suzy Sweetheart gets her cedar chest!

I love that the first thing I saw in this advertisement was not Shirley Temple (whose hair looks perfect, btw), but the line "A Million Maidens Yearn for this Romantic Love Gift". I. LOVE. HYPERBOLE. And alliteration. This line has all those other lines BEAT. I've never read her autobiography (mistake #1), but I do wonder why Temple didn't continue on with movies. In the one non-juvenile role I've seen her in, with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer, she's cute as a button, even grown up! Do you prefer the waterfall with inlay model (center) , or the more traditional looking, tiny colonial legged version at the right?

This one may be my favorite. Look at the pretty future homemaker stowing away her trousseau linens and cute fitted sweaters in her "show her you care!" Lane cedar chest! Look at the guy on the right in his pilot's outfit, saying "That's what I'm fighting for!" My sentimental little heart is melting like a SnoCone. The text has more about how the cedar "destroys moths" (harsh language!) and how service people should order with confidence. So sweet. 

Writing this post makes me remember that I have actually seen a WWII ( maybe even Valentine's day!) gift of one of these out in the field. At an estate sale in a tiny house out in Woodbine, four or five years ago, the entire bedroom suite was cedar, and in a place of prominence in the neat-as-a-pin master suite, was a cedar chest a lot like the one in the above advertisements, all burled-wood and high gloss. Looked as new as if it were just purchased. And in the inside? A handwritten tag with "To [woman's name], From [man's name]",  and a 1945 date. Ugh! It would in no way fit in my house at the time, but I'm kind of sad now I didn't buy it. I hope it found a (new) good home.

What do you think? Will you be peeved as peeved can be tomorrow if there's not a hope chest waiting at the foot of the stairs for you with a love-red ribbon tied around it? Do you have a chest like this in your house? What kinds of things do you store in it (or do you just keep it around to destroy moths)? Let me know!

That's all for today....see you guys back here tomorrow!