Late 1800's Sewing Chest?

My mother always called this "the sewing chest" and said it was from the late 1800s but I cannot find anything like it under that title. All I know is she got it from her Aunt when she passed and said that's what her Aunt called in the will. For as long as I remember it sat in the hallway upstairs. It played an important role as the "kids" phone with the long cord to reach all of our bedrooms sat on top of it. I also found stored away the original black rotary dial phone we used before she got the blue push button. Mom always kept some kind of protective pad on everything and even with three kids the house was always neat as a pin. Now a days she would be called OCD for her cleaning ways. I was amazed at how good the finish was after all these years. I am not looking for it's value as we plan ot keep it I just want to know what it is and it's original purpose?