Tallboy (furniture)

A tallboy is a piece of furniture incorporating a chest of drawers and a wardrobe on top.

[2] A highboy consists of double chest of drawers (a chest-on-chest), with the lower section usually wider than the upper.

The early examples are walnut, but by far the largest portion of the many that have survived are mahogany, this being the wood most frequently employed in the 18th century for the construction of furniture, especially the more massive pieces.

Occasionally the walnut at the beginning of the vogue was inlaid, just as satinwood varieties were inlaid, depending for relief upon carved cornice-mouldings or gadrooning, and upon handsome brass handles and escutcheons.

The topmost drawers of the tallboy could only be reached by the use of bed steps, and the disappearance of high beds and the consequent disuse of steps exercised a certain influence in displacing a characteristic piece of furniture which was popular for at least a century.

Philadelphia highboy with cabriole legs . A lowboy in the same style might likely consist of the lower two drawers. [ 1 ]
Intricately carved Oakley -style tallboy with under cabinet. Other varieties had drawers at the bottom and room for hanging clothes in the top cabinet.