Amelia Earhart’s Trophy Chest: An Art Deco Tribute to Her Legacy

Celebrated for her pioneering aviation accomplishments, Amelia Earhart was presented with numerous trophies and awards which needed a home worthy of her honors. Earhart’s husband, George Putnam, commissioned Albert Wood and Five Sons of Port Washington, New York, to build a storage chest in 1935. Albert Wood and Five Sons was founded by a former staff architect of the Ford Motor Company. At their peak, the family produced over 400 custom-designed and hand-crafted pieces of furniture, specializing in designs using Burma teak with a hand-rubbed oil finish. The transition from Ford Motor Company architect to a family of prominent custom craftsmen was featured in “Six Men of Wood,” a 1950 episode of the DuPont Cavalcade of America Radio Show.

Putnam worked with the cabinetmakers to incorporate aviation themes and symbols into decorative motifs on the Art Deco-styled chest, creating yet another tribute to Earhart’s feats. Over time and with use, these symbols and details have become more difficult to discern, and Putnam’s tribute to Earhart was beginning to diminish.

In preparation for its new display in the Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight gallery at the Museum on the National Mall, the chest came to the Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for assessment and treatment. The goal of our conservation treatment was to counteract the wear and tear of time and to enhance the aesthetics so that the symbolism on the object could be appreciated again. Treating historic furniture is always a delicate balance between celebrating the natural patina that develops with age and reducing the damages that diminish intended appeal.  

Before treatment, the chest was dull, grimy, and monochromatic in appearance. Its ebonized details were obscured by a hazy residue from previous cleaning products. Sections of original ebonizing (the toning of wood to simulate the appearance of ebony wood) was lost to overcleaning.

Water stains left vertical drip marks on the surface, interrupting the horizontal design. Comparisons with historic photos of Earhart with her trophy chest, showed that it originally had more surface gloss and greater color contrasts provided by the ebonized details.

A conservation cleaning removed the grime, water stains, and hazy coatings left by accumulated cleaning products. An easily removable pigmented wax was applied to the ebonized areas to enhance the color contrast originally intended by Putnam and the cabinetmakers.

The front medallion is flanked by separate pieces of wood carved in the profile of Earhart’s Lockheed Vega’s wings. The cabinetmaker stated he modeled the shape directly from the working drawings of Earhart’s airplane. The carved wings are applied to the front of the chest and secured with adhesive.

The highlight of the symbolic motifs is the carved medallions documenting three of Earhart’s groundbreaking flights. The medallions are hand carved and inset into circular recesses on three sides of the chest. Each medallion features a hemispheric map carved with a record-breaking flight path successfully flown by Earhart. A white filler was applied to the recesses to contrast with the ebonized details, providing greater legibility of the maps and flight path.

The front medallion is a map of Earhart’s 1932 flight from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Londonderry, Ireland. Becoming the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, this flight furthered Earhart’s reputation as an accomplished pilot.

Hidden Details 

Once the hazy cleaning residues and stains were removed, smaller details became more prominent. The chest’s flattened bun feet were suggested by Putnam as a design motif to represent aircraft wheels. Correcting the once ebonized coloration reminds the viewer of the black rubber tires. The side of the chest was marred by numerous white scuffs, possibly where a vacuum cleaner repeatedly bumped the chest. These damages distracted from the overall view of the chest and needed to be reduced. Conservation cleaning and some local retouching corrected the distracting scuffs.

Hidden details on the rear side of the chest include a lettering font devised by the cabinetmaker. The stacked and overlapped letters are a beautiful Art Deco ornamentation that is rarely seen. Bird wing motifs are carved into the top corners of the chest along with the 1935 date of manufacture.

The interior contains additional aviation-related details. The chest is fitted with a till, or tray, which sits on a ledge inside. The sides of the till are a wood fretwork carved with airplane profiles. While some elements of the fretwork have been broken and lost, the till is structurally stable and won’t be on view, so the missing pieces were not replaced at this time.

While the cabinetmakers applied their traditional mark to the inside of the chest, they further expressed their pride in their work by signing the underside of the chest. Clearly, the cabinetmakers felt honored to have been chosen to create this tribute to Earhart’s esteem and contributions to aviation.

The design and creation of Amelia Earhart’s trophy chest is a celebration of her record-breaking flights, as well as a beautifully crafted example of aviation’s influence in the Art Deco style. This Art Deco style is illustrated throughout the upcoming Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight gallery.