Posted 10 years ago
Dustiemezo
(1 item)
Bought this the other day at a yardsale because I thought it was beautiful. At first look I thought it was just something made to look old. I then found a date on one of the clasps that reads July 1 73. So 1873? 141 years old? There are leather straps on the sides, one side the leather broke off and is in the trunk still, however there is an anchor that is imprinted into the side metal clasps that would have never even been seen had it not been for the broken leather. I was just wondering is anyone had any info. And whether it may or may not be worth any money. Please and thank you. :)
There is always value in these trunks -- not a high value in this instance but some for sure. Yours looks to be an 1880's paper covered barrel top trunk. I do not ever recall seeing one this size covered in paper. There are ways to restore this or refinish it depending on how you would like it to look. If I had this trunk I would refinish the wood slats and metal banding and I would preserve the paper with a coat of clear finish. Would give it a nice look. Thanks for the post and Welcome to collectors Weekly!
Thank you! It is pretty huge. I don't want to sell it but I'm super intrigued by it. It says 1873. It has letters above that I can't make them all out though. I think it read atentel or maybe atenth. I'm not sure. There's also some kind of crest looking design under the lock but it's so scratched I'm not exactly sure what the whole thing looks like. And yes, I would love to keep the original paper on, what's left of it and preserve the way it looks now with a clear coat if I do get it refurbished. My husband wants to do it when he gets home but of it's really that old I would prefer a professional do it. Lol I don't want to risk it getting messed up. So out of curiosity how much does it usually cost to refurbish these? Do you happen to know?