Christen,
Interesting, but what's your source? Still could be a guide myth without
something to back it up.

"Christen E. Runge" wrote:

> Well, no neat stories, but a little bit of truth.
>
> Closets were indeed sometimes taxed--as rooms. Your tax was determined by
> the number of rooms in your house. There were also additional taxes for
> certain luxury items such as mirrors and chandeliers. Whether closets were
> counted as rooms or not, or taxed or not, varied by locality.
>
> Mainly, old houses lack closets simply because the idea hadn't caught on
> yet. People used furniture for storage (chests, wardrobes, etc.). The
> pantries, buttries and other walk-in service areas of large old houses
> gradually evolved into the closets for personal storage use, but not really
> until the turn of this century.
>
> Christen Runge
> [log in to unmask]

--
Wade Lawrence
Asst. Director, Drayton Hall
National Trust for Historic Preservation
web: www.draytonhall.org
e-mail: [log in to unmask]