Posted 10 years ago
jburke53
(3 items)
I just picked this up today. It is rough shape but the price was reasonable
28"long, 17"deep and 22" at tall at peak
A few things strike me strange are the fake band on the paper and each side has a 3/16" groove just below the handles which goes from front to back
I'm guesstimating this is civil war era based on the use of strap instead of latches
any feedback or correction would be appreciated
I have this feeling that you are going to be a good addition to CW. Alright T-Mon and the rest of you trunk nuts, get cracking! I want to hear some good opinions & info.
Check the paper above the lock you may find the Pat. date. another paper covered trunk that I'm Looking at in a trunk book is dated 1864. These were only made for about four or five years but were made in great abundance.The paper is suppose to resemble embossed leather. they also reduced the amount of steel used by printing the banding. This type of trunk was the start of the era of trunks made entirely of machine produced parts. But the trunk was assembled by hand.This type of covering was in response to a period of leather shortage.(source - Antique Trunk Identification and price guide. )Good luck with it and welcome to the site.
There was a real shortage during that war because of military demands. One of the major causes of the Confederates losing has been attributed to lack of cured leather. They were reduced to harnesses made of cotton straps, which didn't hold up in the field. Good poste.
Drill.
You could not be more wrong with most of your assumptions. I don't mean to sound rude, but we're all big boys and girls here, and this isn't Opra.
1. The 1864 patent you are referring to is # 44944 Nov 8 1864 and is titled "Improved Composition for Flocking Cloth, Paper etc." and deals with a patented finish on composition paper. Read the patent, and remember a patent date only means that's when a patent was issued, not when it was produced.
2. Where do you get that "These were only made for about four or five years but were made in great abundance" ? Wrong, paper covered trunks were made up to at least 1897 (I have the catalog to prove it) Pats book is NOT the holy bible for trunks. A great deal of what's in there is incorrect. That is nothing against Pat, the book was published in 2003!
We now have access to enormous amounts of information that were not available when that book was published, and I sure Pat will be the first to agree. Do some original research.
3. Paper trunks were being produced prior to the Civil war, and long after. Yes, the argument that there was a shortage of leather due to the war, and was the reason for paper trunks, sounds reasonable, but is it a fact? I have yet to read a single article, patent, advertisement etc. alluding to that statement. Paper trunks existed because there was a market for an inexpensive trunk, period. Why do we see ten 1860's leather Jenny Linds for every one paper covered? I could argue that in favor of my opinion, but it would be just as wrong. Leather trunks were batter made, lasted longer, and were taken better car of by their owners, so more remain. Did the war impact the leather industry? Probably. Was the war the reason for the paper covered trunk? No.
Jburke53.
The grooves on the sides are the joints of where 2 pieces of wood meet. The wood has expanded over time producing the space. A common misconception is that trunks with straps are Civil War era. The fact is that latches were not in common use until around 1872, but the strap & buckle setup was used into the 1880s. Look at the picture from an 1881 catalog I posted on post #20 of 827 and it clearly shows leather straps. It's hard to be certain, but I would put your trunk close to the mid 1870's.
Jim
hmsantiquetrunks.com
Thanks for the info Blunder, Drill & HMS
Your correct again Jim it isn't Opra (must be some other site.) I am well aware that pat. Dates normally mean it is not. before the stated date and definitely after it. .Page 35 of the Antique price guide did have a good picture of a paper covered trunk and the pat. on the paper was listed as 1864. jburke 53 had a picture that I thought I found a slight detection of writing above the lock( it's a little blurry). It does help date something when we find them ,but that was never indicated. I never mentioned the civil war but others sure as hell did. Jim I never used the word argue or argument, I only attempted to steer someone in a general direction.I never said the trunk was a set date and never would. Pat's book is not the holy bible for Trunks(I've been meaning to throw it away) and I'm sure it has many flaws( that you will be more than forthcoming to point out,it is one of your strengths just the Facts) No! If you want trunk religion everyone go to HMS Antiques.com.Thats normally where I've been sending them for years.This old Trunk .com is another great source. But Jburke53 didn't head there,to your expansive trunk forum he ended up here. I only tried to help with the info that I had late in the evening.Obviously that info was flawed Jburke 53 I greatly apologize.In the future I will stick to saying as little to nothing of substance. Only things like" nice trunk, really special". I will anxiously await the real words of wisdom from others.
P.S. Jim I do think you should consider getting the words humpback ,camelback, and Arch top stricken from" The American Heritage Dictionary" it could really change the exciting world of trunk recognition as we know it on the planet earth.It could ease your burden on correcting everyone.- just a suggestion. Maybe I'll do some research on it.
I enjoy the sound of crickets Drill Sgt. out
Nice trunk -- I think it is old....
T-Mon, you are a wise man by you're reply. LOL!!
I understand how Sisyphus felt....
Jim
hmsantiquetrunks.com
Good shot hmsantique!
On lighter note Sisyphus must have been that guy that pushed some hot blondes Martin Maier up a hill only to have it come back down.over and over for eternity.Not a bad gig! Way to give that phone number. My wife would have beat me over the head with a trunk. And T-man I thought you were going to give er a class on how to put handles on.(I was waiting). BB2 I like ur trunk too. like the mating dance of the bullfrog. good stuff at the asylum.made me roll like no other day!Some other dude is waiting for a response/none. This place gets busy man sorry!
Oh I just saw the pic of the sissy guy -- what a laugh and soooo clever... thanks for the post and the trunk is a great find. As you can see we are very passionate about our trunks and there is so much still to learn.