Hendrix acquired this chest from his close friend, Stella Douglas Shapiro, the ex-wife of Hendrix's record producer, Alan Douglas. Shapiro owned a store with her friend Colette Mimram in Greenwich Village selling eclectic furniture and clothing, which was frequented by musicians at the time, including Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Santana. The pair also made custom-made stage outfits, most famously the white fringed jacket worn by Hendrix for his performance at Woodstock in August, 1969. Hendrix and Shapiro became close friends, with Hendrix flying out to join Colette and Stella in Morocco for a nine day vacation in 1969. Shapiro recalls that she first met Hendrix when he was living in the basement of his manager Michael Jeffrey and that she helped him find his own apartment on West 12th Street, later helping him find furniture and help decorate it. She recalls Jimi kept looking at this Moroccan chest in her store and that he told her he was going to store his tapes in it so she helped him carry it to his apartment. She recalls how Jimi would often record late at night and toss the tapes into this chest. After Hendrix's death, Shapiro visited the apartment with Michael Jeffrey and discovered that the chest was empty with the tapes she believed stolen. After Hendrix's death, Shapiro took back the chest as a memento.