On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 08:19:50 -0500, (J T)
wrote:

The title of this raises many questions. Do they mean it's New
England style.

The style of "New England". It's the cross-over between a 14th
century construction style (colonies are always a century or two
behind fashion) and the availability of big wide boards. You can make
these in the 17th century coastal colonies, but by the time settlement
had moved West, techniques had moved on.

America seems to have skipped over the clamp-fronted chest design that
was used in England. The first settlers made these pre-tudor 6 board
chests because they're so simple, then the established cabinetmakers
went straight to complex Jacobean styles with full framing. This took
a long time in England because it was a technical development, but in
America it was just a question of having the time (surfeit of turkey /
shortage of bears) to make a style you'd learned as an apprentice back
in the old country.