SCHRANK
Dutchess or Ulster County, New York, 1715-40
Maple and pine
Collection of the Ulster County Historical Society
John P. Remensnyder Collection

Sharing a similar cornice and other features to a kast, this cupboard is known as a “schrank.” This German-inspired furniture form is fitted in the interior with pegs in one half and with shelves in the other half. Its purpose was primarily for storing clothing. Peter Kenny proposes that this cupboard and others like it were constructed by German Palatinate craftsmen who settled in the Rhinebeck and Kingston areas, on either side of the Hudson River.

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