Posted 10 years ago
FatBoy64
(13 items)
I'm thinking about getting this Jenny Lind off Craigslist, going to hit the antique shop tomorrow and check it out, and I was wondering if the more experienced people here would leave this as is or have it restored? Any opinions?
Stunning trunk -- I would have my coat on and be out the door already for this one. It is hard to tell the state of covering with the pic resolution. If you do get it show us a better pic and we can comment with a bit more wisdom... where exactly was that antique store..????
AH, T-Mon, you are the sly one! LOL
I should probably explain I haven't refinished a trunk before, I'm pretty new to this so I'm worried about doing damage to the thing. It looks like the covering is coming off and I'd imagine it needs work but this isn't something for a novice to tackle is it? Ummm, I'll have to look up the address for you, I don't have it right here with me. LOL
Acquire first -- ask questions later.... if this is at a decent price go for it! A novice can tackle this as it is really not complex. The hard part will be to decide whether or not to take off the covering and with some better pics we will give you some advice on that front. This is a beautiful brass banded Jenny Lind -- a score no matter what you do to it... quick -- I think it opens at 9am.... run Forrest run....
LOL...if you pass this up, trunkman's gonna be upset at you from a distance! ;) I agree with him, it looks really nice!
Actually share, T-Mon may not be upset. He appears to know the shop NOW & will be lurking if fatboy doesn't grab it. Can't blame him! LOL!
This thing was a trainwreck. There had been termites or some such critters eating away at the wood, the bottom was almost gone. There were nails in the banding and even a couple of buttons had nails in them. Water damage, rust, you name it, this was just fancy firewood from what I could tell. They are asking 150.00 for it and I asked if they would come down on the price and the guy behind the counter said he could knock 10 percent off and if I wanted to haggle more than that I'd have to take it up with the owner of the store so I passed. Its all yours Trunkman, or whoever wants to pounce on it. Here is the Craigslist add if anyone is serious about it : http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/atd/4758492866.html
Anybody driving from Montreal to Texas this weekend... I will pay for snacks... swing and a miss as the old saying goes... us restoration dudes would still bite but I understand the hesitancy and you have to like what you buy -- so keep looking, yours is just around the corner - and thanks for the post -- that was fun!
It took me almost 5 years to find the 5 brass banded Jenny Lind with the 5 slats I drove almost 4 hours to utica N.Y. one way to get it.I paid $200 because you just don't see that style around that much. If you search back 5 posts you will see what it can look like with the proper restoration(HMS Antiques). As far as condition not much from the 1860s isn't a little tattered it's worth saving.
FatBoy64, I would have snagged this one faster than you could say Jack Kerouac! I know it probably looked really bad, but you'd be very surprised at what this will look like completely restored. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
I've brought some trunks home that were so bad that my wife wouldn't let me even bring them into the garage for a several days. Those turned from ugly ducklings to real beauties. I think this one has much, much potential. You'll eventually find the one you're looking for. They just kinda jump right out at you. Or so that seems to be the case for me anyway. Thanks for sharing with everyone on CW.
"Jack Kerouac" jscott? You are my generation, or degeneration! Wish I could find some of his books. We have both lived the same life.
I love Jack Kerouac!! I have Big Sur, but that is the only one I have. I don't think he was given the credit he deserved in his short life on this Earth!!
Will have to see if I can find a few of his books. He probably influenced my life a lot but I picked up $2.9 mil going thru life steerage class & loved every moment! LOL!! Of course the the U.S. gov't stole most of it but I'm doing well & happy. I like to think that I adapted Kerouac's attitude. Keep well my friend.
Back at ya blunderbuss2. Take Care!!
So you guys think this is a find? I'm seriously rethinking this now.
This IS a find... but some work needs to be done to make it beautiful... but these come out great... check out my site -- I have a before and after Jenny Lind... I will post it up for you to see... put it this way... you will not lose on the investment....
I like T-Mon's response. Save him the expense of all those snacks going from Montreal to TX.
Was that an offer to drive BB2 'cause I'm all over that... or in your case fly?
Sure T-Mon. Right now I have a shipwrecked couple staying for a few days but am looking for a house sitter for a week in April.
These are well worth the work to restore. I found one in bad shape at a flea market and took the time to restore it. Mine was missing the hinges, some of the banding towards the bottom was rusted out and a few of the brass buttons were missing. It now sits in my family room along side my other trunks. You can never have enough trunks - once you start you have to hunt for more. Hunting for trunks is fun, bringing something back to life when it is in bad shape is worth the time and very rewarding.