Chests with drawers were in fashion as early as 1650, according to the old records, many of them handsomely carved, and all showing little egg-shaped pieces upon the drawers. Some of the finest of these old chests are shown in the Waters collection at Salem. Generally they were fashioned of oak, and a frequent characteristic was a lid on top which lifted off, allowing for the packing of large articles, while the drawers at the front were used for storing smaller things. Sometimes chests are found constructed on frames, but not often. This type was probably fashioned to hold linen, being the forerunner of the high chest of drawers which came into vogue in the later days of the seventeenth century. Up to some time after 1700, chests continued in general use, though it is doubtful if they were made in any great quantity after 1720. The number of legs found on these chests varies with the time of making, some showing six, while others have but four. [Illustration: PLATE XXXII.--Chest of Drawers, 1710; Six-legged High Chest of Drawers, about 1705.] With the advent of the high chest of drawers, other woods than oak, such as walnut and cherry, and later mahogany, became popular; the use of these woods produced a marked change in chest designs, notably in the massiveness of build. Many specimens of both types are found throughout New England, one very fine example of the early type showing the drop handle, which is a characteristic of the early chest, being included in the Nathaniel B. Mansfield collection. Another of the later type, now in the Pickering house, carefully stored away that no harm may befall it, shows on one side the initials of Colonel Timothy Pickering, who used it during his army days. [Illustration: PLATE XXXIII.--Dressing Table with Brass feet; Bureau and Dressing Glass.] Dressing tables were made to go with these chests, following the same lines of design, though constructed with four rather than six legs. These came to be designated as "lowboys" in distinction from the chests mounted upon high legs, which were known as "highboys." Examples of both were found in the old General Abbot house at Salem, until a few years ago; while a highboy, showing bandy legs, a characteristic of the earliest high chest, is a prized possession in the Benson home, also at Salem. Many highboys and lowboys show inlay work, one of the former, of English manufacture, being found in the Warner house at Portsmouth, while another, of different style, is shown in the Osgood house at Salem.