Posted 11 years ago
Tenn_Leslie
(1 item)
This is my antique trunk I purchased from a local marketplace. It has the tray inside and one side of the tray has a thin cover with a design that matches the design of a woman on the inner lid. It has wheels however one is missing. The lock says "pat Nov 30 69" and the small latches on each side of the lock appears to say "jul 972" . Its so worn that its hard to be sure of what they say. The sides seem to be wood with some type of thick paper over them. One side has chipped off a little so I'm not sure its not canvas. The handles are wooden. The inside has a single hinge on the right side. The horizontal wood slats on the top and front of it seem to have possibly tin covering the edges. I have no idea what I'm working with here And I want to restore the inside for blanket storage and clean up/repair the outside. Any information and suggestions are greatly appreciated! I'm so curious as to how old it is and exactly what type of trunk this is.
Oh, it is a beauty! Wood handles are not common and it is great that none is missing. The lithographs on the inside are terrific. I would hope that you can preserve at least toe one on the lid. I have not always been able to do so. When they are well stuck to the lid (and that horse glue is strongs tuff, ) I 1. color around the edge with a thin border of sharpie, usually a version of the color of the finished wood, 2. cut carefully around the edge with exaco knife. 3. lay moist, soapy cloth on the surounding paper until it is loose and can be scraped off. This will likely not work on the thin cover as I expect it is a type of pressed paper like cardboard. Looks loke lots of fun to me.
Congratulations on your first trunk!! So much fun. Looks like you have a lovely late 1890 to early 1900 dome top trunk. Although the patent dates on the hardware are earlier times they used these locks for a long period so they do not necessarily line up with the trunk age. Some things on your trunk suggest an earlier date and some a newer one. What makes me think it is from around the trunk of the century is the slat clamps and handle clamps-- they appear to be pressed metal as opposed to cast iron -- which is an indication of it being from early 1900's. Wooden handles on a trunk are rare. The term "steamer trunk" I believe was used to describe the smaller half size trunk that was used as a cabin trunk on overseas journeys. Many people now often refer to all old trunks as "steamer trunks" but it is a bit of a misnomer. The two rivets on each side of the lock would have held a piece of leather over the latch for protection. All in all a nice example of a metal covered trunk. Have fun with it and welcome to CW!
Thank you everyone! Can you tell me what the sides are covered in? It looks too thick to be paper. Maybe canvas?? I was.considering removing whatever it is and sanding it. And staining the wood.
Hard to tell what it is covered with in the picture. Is it not metal like the rest of the trunk? It would either be metal or canvas or vulcanized fiber. Only worth refinishing if it it canvas.
No its not metal. Its peeled off little on the sides. Its dark grey And it has a woven, fiber material. Almost looks like wallpaper or canvas. And it's wood underneath.
Must be all canvas then -- lucky you -- much easier to take off. They do look great refinished.
What's the best way to refinish the metal (tin)?
Well for the tin there are a couple of options -- I usually just gun oil my tin to freshen it up but it will still have an "older" look to it. You could also fine steel wool it down and repaint using a flat or semi-gloss metal paint. Anyone else have a good method?