Posted 11 years ago
Alley2812
(1 item)
UDPATE: So I turned the trunk over (not sure why I haven't done this before), and on the bottom is some writing, which has taken me a lot Googling to figure out. I've posted a picture, but I believe it says:
Maj.W.S. Patten
Quartermaster
Washington D.C
No. 112 WT 140 Lbs
There's also another couple lines of writing, and all I can make out so far is "New York City". From my research, W.S. Patten was a Quartermaster between late 1880s and the early 1900s. I was really excited when I found this information, but confused; the trunk does not look like anything that would be used to ship things, and why would it be addressed on the bottom??? So now my thought is that the trunk was built using a scrap piece of wood for the bottom from a wooden box that was addressed and shipped to W.S Patten. If anyone has any insight into why this address is on the BOTTOM of my trunk, I would be extremely grateful!!
Original Post:
I found this trunk last weekend at a local antique mall. The vendor had it listed as an antique military trunk. I've been searching the internet, but can't find one like it. Solid wood, with metal on the corners, and small rectangular metal pieces with holes in them on the top (two along the front, one on each side and one along the back...any idea what these are for?). U.S.A has been painted on the front and both ends. There's also what appears to be "NO." and then a number painted on each end, but I can't make it out. There's no lip on the interior, so I don't think its a tool chest. The handles and hinges do not look original. Planning on using this to store old quilts, etc, just hoping to get an idea of what I have. Any ideas??
Thanks!!
Looks like a nice storage chest -blanket box from the turn of the century. These chests were quite common and used for multiple purposes. It has nothing about it per se that would designate it as a military chest. It is hard to tell by the pictures but are the corners done in brass? It is a lovely solid pine piece that would look beautiful if you refinished it -- although many like the old distressed look too (I do). I have a couple of blanket boxes, but not of this design, on my site that I have refinished just as an example. Thanks for the post!
Thanks for the feedback! The corners are definitely covered with metal, brass is my guess. After taking a closer look at the sides, it looks like it says "Noah", not "No." Like I originally thought. I'm guessing that the previous owner assumed it was military since it says USA on the side. Either way, I'm excited to get it cleaned up and start storing some quilts in it!