Hmmm the photo won't come through on the post so I'll try adding it here.

wow, that's different. I've never seen a wavy door on a piece like that. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks it is. I'd like to see more details... the feet almost look like roughed-out carving in this photo. :)

Hard to tell the kind of wood, maybe oak? Start by searching ‘high boy dresser serpentine front hat storage’.

The only text anywhere on it is on the back, "Gold Oak" and scribbled out in black crayon, "1950" so I think your suggestion is spot on. Any idea of the maker?

What would the pulls have looked like? How do I clean the pickling off the locks without ruining the patina underneath if there is any? Is there a way to find matching keys or have them made?

Oh also, do you think the shell on the front is original to the dresser, or added later? If added later would removing it do more harm than good?

Why do you think the front is not original?

The words "gold oak" refer to the original factory applied stain....don't know what the 1950 meant. Can't think someone would write on it the date they painted it.
It dates to the turn of the century, give or take 10 to 15 years...it's factory made so looking at the dovetails won't tell you a thing....they are not hand done nor are they Knapp joint.
The fronts of the door and drawers are veneer and look to be in great shape....so treat it carefully to see that it stays that way...water will loosen the glue and cause the veneer to lift.
Use a mixture of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner...3/4 alcohol and 1/4 lacquer thinner...brush it on a small spot with an old paint brush and let it sit for 30 seconds and wipe with a paper towel....repeat until the piece is clean. Then sand VERY gently with a very fine sand paper, wipe the dust off with mineral spirits and apply a couple of coats of varnish.
Don't worry about any patina on the key hole covers of the locks, that went with the application of that paint.
The pulls would look like these....and are available on line....repros of course, but that's OK...you will need ones with a back plate to cover the hole from those wooden knobs.

Can't get a picture to post....so I'll try it this way....
https://norcalonlineauctions.com/auctions/redding-chico-estate-liquidation-sale~1502/lot-17---antique-oak-gentlemans-chest-~51343/

@colleenoz I'm not sure if the shell on the front is original because none of the ones I'm finding online from this period have them.

Edit: Houzz won't let me attach the photo so here's a link:

Shell on bottom front

@Flo Mangan,

The dovetails are definitely factory made. The only other joints aside from these are tongue and groove and a few wooden blocks with glue on them. The top is screwed on.

Dovetails

The green appears to be left over from the pickling process.

@lindac92,

The fronts are really curvy so I don't think back plates will work unless they match the curve exactly. The fill appears to be bits of dowels sanded off to be flush with the front. I figured I'd do the same for the holes left by the current knobs when I remove them.

Drawer Front

Drawer Front Inside

Other repair questions:

The wood on the hat box door is splitting on the bottom where the hinge screws go into the wood. How can I repair this so that it can open and close without further damaging the wood?

Hat Box Hinge Damage

Also one of the drawers has some broken/missing dovetails. Is there a way to stabilize it so it doesn't get worse?

Likewise, some of the drawers stick a little when pulling them out. There are no metal rails. How can I make these pull a bit more smoothly?

@Flo Mangan,

Oh, to answer your comment about price, we paid $220. I don't think it's a great price for the condition it's in, but it matches the style of our 1900 bungalow perfectly so we're happy with it. :)

I wouldn’t expect the carved piece at the bottom to be curved as well, that would be difficult for the manufacturer. But the top appears to mimic the curve, yes? (BTW, there was nothing when I clicked the link for the photo.)

My late mother had a plain chest of drawers (without the hat cupboard) in mahogany which were similarly wavy.

If you are satisfied and it fits your home, perfect. That price isn't too bad even with the condition problems. Best of luck with your "project".

Yes, that carved piece on the bottom is original.....and you could go with bail type handles and do a careful job filling the old holes.
I would squirt some wood glue in the place on the door that is splitting and then clamp it....maybe a bar clamp would work?
Put wax on the rails and the sides of the drawers to make it easier to slide...some parrafin or a candle...or even a cake of soap will make it slide more smoothly.
Yep...machine made dovetails.....and they even painted and papered the inside of the drawers green? Oh my!! You will want to get that paper off of there and It may harbor some musty smells....but be careful with soaking ti with water!!
It will be lovely!!

Wear a mask, gloves and if possible work outside to remove that green stuff. While it may be from pickling if from the period lindac states it could be something that might make you sick. Edited to add while uncommon some people painted Paris Green in some unlikely places to kill insects.

Thanks for all the replies! I think I have enough info to go on for the repairs now.

One last question though: My wife is absolutely determined to paint it. Am I correct in understanding that any value from the original finish is gone now, so painting it shouldn't hurt the value any? Thanks!

It will be worth more with the original oak....and since the veneer is is such good condition I hate to see you paint it. "antique value" isn't only determined by original finish, but by overall condition and desirability of the piece. I am highly prejudiced against something that is obviously an antique, painted. It becomes "grandma's attic"...not fun at all. If you want painted furniture, buy something that isn't obviously an oak chest from 1910. And I thought you said you wanted it because it matched the style of your old house ( I use the term "old house" as one of endearment!).
$220 to buy a piece of antique oak furniture and then paint it?...I don't get that. Why are you worried about getting the pickeling off if you are only going to paint it again?

Yes, I also would think it a great shame to paint it.

Thanks again for all the advice! I'll post more photos when we make any progress on it, whichever way we go.

It‘s hard to tell, but it’s possible the veneer is quarter sawn oak - in the close up of the drawer front it looks like there may be medullary rays. You have received excellent advice, especially from lindac92. Work on a small area at a time and see how it cleans up before deciding to paint. You could end up with something closer to the chests pictured below.

And be aware that if you do paint it and you decide to strip it it will be many times harder to do and more destructive to the veneer than simply dissolving that pickling stain.
Beautiful old oak highboy under that green stain.

I’d have a piece like the one elunia posted over a painted piece any day!

It's not a repro......nor had it been modified in any way but to replace the hardware. I am an antique collector and have spent many years studying items like this....and have had my rubber glove clad hands all over a few.
The particular style of the leg and the curve of the drawer were at the whim of the manufacturer....this is not a hand made piece...it's factory furniture.

I guess I’m confused - a reproduction dating from when exactly? Lindac92 placed the style of serpentine veneered front to 1890-1915. The examples I posted as well as yours would seem to indicate the chest is in keeping with that date range.

Not an exact match...

The OP should look for holes on the bottom of the legs (evidence of castors) and signs that a mirror would have been attached from the back.

In reply to the comment above about reproductions. Furniture styles have been reproduced time and again over the centuries. For some styles it is easy to tell simply because of what they are made from. If wood and the grain is tighter compared to another piece the looser grained item would be more likely have been made later after the older denser wood supply had been exhausted. Depending on the period it may as simple as the angle of the leg is slightly different either between time periods or makers.

Some types of glazes or colors were only available at certain times. I am learning about paint pigments and several books mention colors made from natural pigments no longer being available because the mine had exhausted the source. In earlier times if the source was exhausted no more of that color. Today there are computer programs that can reproduce the color but may not be able to reproduce the way the color reflects or absorbs the light. An expert can tell the difference the average person would not.

A caution if you happen to find something similar to the one that is on Pinterest. Not all furniture with that figuration of front wood is natural wood. In wanting to use a table with that nice looking wood in cleaning I discovered it was a painted surface. Nice style but the grain left with the first swipe of the cloth.

Yeah....false graining....and worth more than a natural grained piece because it took a certain amount of artistry to do that.
These golden oak pieces with the serpentine veneered fronts have not been reproduced.

maifleur01, you’ve made some excellent points. You probably also should have included that no one should be making a visual examination from photos. And yes, I understand perfectly that furniture styles have been reproduced time and again. I am also quite familiar with the analytical techniques used to establish authenticity. I guess my point is that there is really no reason to doubt the provenance IN THIS CASE - the OP’s SIL’s ex said that the chest had been in the family since the 1800s (maybe make allowances for slight exaggeration). Of course, many a family lore has been shattered by DNA testing!

I find a lot of family lore in regards to household items very iffy. People tend to forget that for many families 20 years is a generation since women tended to stop having children in their 40's. So three generations may or may not be 60 years or less, as and example.

BUT ....there is the simple fact that these curved front, dressers with the veneered fronts have not been reproduced. The closest thing is the waterfall pieces of the 30's but they did not have the shaping of those serpentine fronted pieces of 30 to 40 years earlier.

Wow, I didn't realize I'd start so much conversation! :D

The veneer is intact and is so solidly made I don't think anyone would go to the trouble just to pickle it. I'm inclined to go with the earlier dates. I'll find out what the wood grain looks like once I clean it, and will post photos then. I probably won't have time until after the holidays though.

I have sourced many pieces of this period. Commonly referred to as "golden oak period". Likely mass-produced because it's been done earlier than 1900. the Dresser or highboy is quarter-sawn oak veneer ( and oak as the top is not veneer but solid quartered oak ) serpentine drawers and hatbox. Some idiot attempted to strip it with meythl hydrate and left it alone. After a wipe down, this uniformed unpleasant "taupe" tone was left, but the detail photos by the owner reveal very little thickness on the veneer to substantiate finish. the original holes for pulls were filled in and art-mission knobs put on ( they can be used on an art mission piece somewhere else. the applique on the bottom rail is original and these were sold with bedsteads in many magazines around the turn of the last century. There appears to be nothing wrong with the wood veneer ( inside of the drawers are veneered with poplar). I would refinish either with methyl hydrate and or paint and varnish remover and refinish with varnish of your choice. I don't believe in painting attractive grains over with some colour. That time could be spent on a piece of "brown furniture" from the 80's .... Golden Oak on the rear is it's finish of the day. "1950" has no bearing on the piece. The piece's age can also be determined on the lock mechanisms ( if they are still inside the drawer walls). The keyhole escutcheons are original, and I bet the original finish is still underneath those. Remove the nails with pliers and you can get a peak. Mirror is missing and would have hung in a sculptured harp and like all from that period would be bevelled and scalloped edge) . it would also have had wood or steel casters... Restore it, and you've got a piece worth about 600 - 800 - Cheers JJ

Not sure what you are seeing but I can't see enough of the grain of the wood in the original pictures of the painted or pickled piece to tell is it's quarter sawn or not....btu what I do see of the hatbox doesn't appear quarter sawn to me.
I hope that after 2 years the piece has been re done.

No, not from the original picture, but from the five others Kristopher Wood uploaded to his shared album on google photos. Drawer Front/knob detail: one can see medullary rays of the quarter sawn oak through the "pickling". The "gunk" around the wood Art-Mission pulls indicates the piece was rushed through some sort of stripping process because the person stripping it didn't even take off the knobs! Bottom front: In photo showing front bottom rail where the "shell" applique is, you can clearly see the grain and medullary rays of the quarter-sawn oak here as well. These are veneers of course on the drawer fronts, as cutting a serpentine shape would come out of a massive block of quarter-sawn oak and that wouldn't be practical.

We know the practice in production of furniture from this period to use a great deal of poplar and the inside back of drawer fronts in many many pieces was sheathed in poplar veneer to hide the multiple components of the drawer front body - often made of oak or ash, and more recently, poplar. Drawer interior & drawer photo showing joinery: the photo Kristopher wood has shared of the drawer interior indicates this, and the new hole between the two original holes. Hatbox door: And yes I do see the inside of the hat box door is oak, or ash or elm, but the quarter-sawn oak veneer would have only been used on the outside of the hatbox door. Yes, I suspect the O.P. has moved on to pastures new. I have been on google images hunting (for several years) for a sibling for dresser I have here in my study, and stumbled across this page. Cheers! JJ

About the repair of the wood split in front door.

I can't tell from the photos, but it appears that it is not a wood split, rather the door is made of several layers of wood glued together. Whatever the case, the repair is the same for wood split or debonding of a layer.

1. The problem we face is that if the hinges are shifted a tiny amount, the door will not fit properly upon reassembly. Because of this, I do not recommend disturbing the hinge screws . If the hinges allow removal of the hinge pins, remove the door by removing the hinge pins. First, partially drive out the pins, and then support the door and finish removing the pins. If the hinge pins cannot be removed, then move to option 2.

2. Option 2: Repair without door removal. Before gluing, gather the necessary clamping items and test fit the clamps, that is, try to apply the clamps before applying adhesive. Get two boards to fit between between the clamp jaws and the work piece. This is to prevent the clamp from denting the door. Since the door is attached to the cabinet, maybe only one clamp can be applied. Apply the clamping pieces and inspect. If it is usable, then proceed with the adhesive.

Before gluing, mask off any surfaces that need protection from errant adhesive. Work the adhesive into the separation as best you can and clamp. Wipe off any excess that squeezes out. Do not get any on the finish surfaces of the door. Tighten the hinge screws that are in the door. Do not over tighten, merely insure these are snug.

After the adhesive has set, remove the clamps and proceed with the repair.

3. Option 3: Door removal when hinge pins can not be removed

Since the hinge screws and wood are in good condition on the cabinet wall, remove the door by removing hinge screws in the cabinet wall. Leave the hinges attached to the door. Proceed with the repair.