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]