Early Large Farmhouse Bread Dough Board ~ Cutting

Offered for auction is this old farmhouse bread board.  This was found at a remote country farmhouse estate auction in upstate New York.  It was obvious that this family farmed, gardened/canned, baked and lived somewhat self-sufficient.  There was an old wood cooking stove still in the kitchen which I’m assuming may explain the burn mark on the bread board.  This board was also used for chopping as you can see from the marks over the years.  This large multi-use kitchen board measures 20 in. wide by 26 ½ in. long by ¾ in. thick.  Amazingly, it is all one piece of wood except for the end pieces.

This early bread board has a hole for hanging that has elongated and become oval shape from wear.  There are square nails that were used to add on the end pieces.  It looks as if the front of the board and end pieces were painted black or stained dark at one time which has mostly worn off.  There is a small splotch of grayish paint (it looks like) on the front and I noticed some scattered paint speckles which seem to flake off with a gentle push of my fingernail. The back of the board has a smoother finish and looks more orangey brown and you can tell that was the side that was hung against the wall.  I don’t know what kind of wood this was made of but it has a fine grain and if I had to guess I’d say it was possibly Maple.   Straight from a farmhouse kitchen, this wonderful, old primitive bread board will be a great accent piece as well as a useable bread board or cutting board in the kitchen.