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To Build an Heirloom, Start with an Heirloom

Stephen Scott, associate editor

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Jacklin's reporduction dresser is slightly taller than the original.

Eric Jacklin

Among the big challenges for Jacklin was turning and carving the decorated feet.

Jacklin's reporduction dresser is slightly taller than the original.

Photo: Eric Jacklin

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Last week, reader Eric Jacklin sent these photos of the mahogany dresser he completed recently for his 10-year-old daughter. While not an exact reproduction, the piece is a faithful copy of a dresser built 80 years earlier by Jacklin's great-grandfather.

According to family records, Jacklin's ancestor was a designer and cabinet-maker who worked in the shops of great Boston furniture makers Irving & Casson and A.H. Davenport. His work made its way into more than a few historic and high-profile residences.

But the piece that mattered most to Jacklin's daughter was the dresser built as a wedding present for her great aunt. Jacklin spent more than 120 hours building the new piece, using some of his great-grandfather's tools. The turning and carving, he says, were the greatest challenges.

Jacklin says his daughter "appreciates how to take care of furniture". Who knows? In another 80 years, perhaps her dresser will inspire another family heirloom.

Steve S.

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