How do you transport a large dresser?

The upper rack usually lifts off the base. You lift it straight up and out of the wooden shoes fixed to the back of the work surface. Moving the two halves separately makes navigating doorways much easier. Just remember to empty the drawers and tie the cupboard doors shut before carrying the base section.

I live in a modern house with central heating running all winter, so will the dry air cause the solid wood to crack?

Antique dressers usually did all their shrinking and moving centuries ago. The timber adapts slowly to new environments, so sudden shifts in temperature cause the main issues rather than just a dry room. Keep the piece away from direct heat sources like radiators. A little seasonal movement in the drawer runners is normal and nothing to worry about.

What goes in the small top drawers?

Those are spice drawers. Cooks kept expensive seasonings well above the damp floor and close to eye level. Some people now use them for storing keys and small household items.

The shelves on mine seem shallow compared to modern kitchen units, so what sort of things were they actually designed to hold?

The narrow shelves were built specifically to display plates upright. Most feature a groove cut into the timber near the back edge to stop the rims slipping forward. Deep shelves would cast shadows and hide the ceramics from view. By keeping the profile shallow, households ensured their plates caught the light from the fire.

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Antique Dressers from the 19th Century

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Combining a base of drawers and cupboards with an open shelved rack, the antique dresser served both as practical kitchen storage and a prominent display stage for a household's best pewter and ceramics.