Share your favorites on Show & Tell

Antique French Hat Trunk

In Furniture > Trunks > Show & Tell.
Trunks1756 of 2702Interior Of Antique French Hat TrunkAntique treasure chest
13
Love it
0
Like it

vcalvcal loves this.
NewfldNewfld loves this.
DrillDrill loves this.
myoldkyhomemyoldkyhome loves this.
officialfuelofficialfuel loves this.
FatBoy64FatBoy64 loves this.
SEAN68SEAN68 loves this.
kyratangokyratango loves this.
vetraio50vetraio50 loves this.
aghcollectaghcollect loves this.
pops52pops52 loves this.
trunkmantrunkman loves this.
walksoftlywalksoftly loves this.
See 11 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 10 years ago

    jscott0363
    (903 items)

    I just finished this lovely lady's French hat trunk. It's canvas covered and still has all of it's leather trim as well as it's original leather carry handle.
    Lots of nice brass hardware. I also really like the blue and white stripes. It's designed to carry lady's hats, but I'm sure it could have also been used to carry men's hats as well. This one was a bit of a challenge as it was very dirty and heavily stained from being exposed to the elements. Still, I thought it turned out nicely.
    It had a White Star Line decal that was too deteriorated to salvage. It still has the Hotel Russell London and a Hotel Zurich of Zurich decal still intact. There is another hotel decal that I am unable to make out. It also has a "Wanted" decal on the front. This would more than likely have been from the White Star Line steam ship.
    I do not know the manufacturer or it's age. But, the hat pin cushion (hat holder) inside the lid has a patent date of Sept. 1897. It also has a leather label on the front that reads "Boite A Chapeaux Systeme Brevette S.G.D.G." which I believe means "Box For Hat" and "Patent Not Guaranteed by Government". I don't speak French, so I could very well be wrong about that.
    If anyone out there has any information on the manufacturer of this hat trunk or how old this would be, I welcome your input.

    Thanks for looking!!
    Scott

    Unsolved Mystery

    Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.

    logo
    Trunks
    See all
    Antique Trunk & Chest-Restoration Hardware-Leather Handles & Fasteners--U-Kit
    Antique Trunk & Chest-Restoration H...
    $30
    Antique Victorian Trunk Camel Back Dome Top Travel Cabin Chest Old Ship Steamer
    Antique Victorian Trunk Camel Back ...
    $299
    Antique Trunk Handles-2 leather straps,4 trunk hardware black metal caps-nails-A
    Antique Trunk Handles-2 leather str...
    $30
    Antique Camel Top Steamer Trunk Ornate Metallic 1800's Victorian Dome Chest
    Antique Camel Top Steamer Trunk Orn...
    $679
    logo
    Antique Trunk & Chest-Restoration Hardware-Leather Handles & Fasteners--U-Kit
    Antique Trunk & Chest-Restoration H...
    $30
    See all

    Comments

    1. trunkman trunkman, 10 years ago
      Very lovely indeed! Funny those coloured stripes on some trunks -- adds a bit of flair to the piece I must say. Nice job on the restoration scott...
    2. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thank you Cindy!!
    3. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thank you T-man!! I do appreciate the kind comment!
    4. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks walksoftly for the love!!
    5. Jewels Jewels, 10 years ago
      I love it! I love the stripes detail!
    6. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thank you Julie!! I especially like the stripes. Not sure why, but those stripe seem to be on a lot of European trunks.
    7. Jewels Jewels, 10 years ago
      I believe I have seen trunks (prolly not as attractive though) like this and didn't know what they were...thanks for sharing, good to learn...:)
    8. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Yeah Julie, I agree. Years ago I saw trunks like this and passed on them because I wasn't sure what they were used for. I now know. A rare thing is to find the hat pin cushion still with the trunk. Few survived as most, like this one, are filled with saw dust.
    9. Jewels Jewels, 10 years ago
      I don't believe I would have passed on this one because I would have been drawn to the stripes...even if I didn't know :) I believe I thought they held record albums...:)
    10. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      I guess the hat pin cushion would be the dead giveaway on this one:)
    11. Jewels Jewels, 10 years ago
      True :)
    12. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks aghcollect for the love!!
    13. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks PatSea for the love!!
    14. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      And maybe he'll bring you one. My son gave this to me for Christmas. But, I had to do the restoration on it. Which was the part I truly enjoyed.
    15. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks vetraio50 for the love!
    16. kyratango kyratango, 10 years ago
      Nice find and restoration! You're right for the translation, SGDG is for "Sans Garantie Du Gouvernement"
      As a hat pin collector, I would love to see the pin cushion :-)
    17. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks kyratango for the nice comment and the love!!
    18. SEAN68 SEAN68, 10 years ago
      stunning!!
    19. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thank you Sean for the kind comment and the love!! I do appreciate it very much!
    20. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks FatBoy64 for the love!
    21. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks officialfuel for the love!!
    22. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thank for the love eye4beauty!
    23. myoldkyhome myoldkyhome, 10 years ago
      Great work, Scott. It really looks wonderful!
    24. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Well, thank you myoldkyhome!! This one was definitely a challenge. As you know, the canvas covered ones can be a little tough when your trying to preserve the original canvas covering!
    25. Drill Drill, 10 years ago
      Ok Scott ,I had my suspicions, So when you goggle Boîte A Chapeaux Systeme a bunch of pictures of French hat boxes will come up.But if you keep scrolling you will come across An Advertising poster Of Au Bon March'e , If you read the poster it talks of their " System'e of selling everything at a minimum Profit and thouroughly reliable Quality is the ruling principle of Bon Marche' ". I believe that this was made for or sold There. Incidentally this is the building of the "Grand Maggasins "in Paris.
      Hope this helps. I will try again to cut and paste the link of the photo, if my computer will let me. Lately it's a lemon not an apple.
    26. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Drill, is that the same link that you posted on T-man's site? It was a Grand department store in France as I recall. But, I don't remember which trunk you pasted the link to.
    27. Drill Drill, 10 years ago
      http://www.delcampe.net/page/list/cat,6303,var,-Chromos-Images-Old-Paper,language,E.html
      Scott, hopefully here is the link to Au bon Marche
    28. Drill Drill, 10 years ago
      Sorry, Scott the link above is not it. T-mans french trunk but the link is different that I have found. Just search and scroll. I'll try again.
    29. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thanks Drill!! The link works just fine. I emailed Jean-Pierre Bal of Belmal.be to see if he had any information on this trunk. He said he's on a short holiday, but will be in touch next week sometime.
      It has a lot of the same feature of the crocodile hide French trunk I recently posted. I'm curious if they are the same manufacturer.
    30. Drill Drill, 10 years ago
      Yes !Many of the same features of construction and some hardware,I Have searched for the manufacturer "Bertrand" of the leather one and have come up empty. But maybe he has other insight or advertising.Good luck and nice trunk.(Yes the link works but I am finding different posters then the one I initially quoted you about the wording " System'e ".)
    31. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Thank Drill!! I knew if anyone could appreciate this one, it would be you. Especially since you have more knowledge and appreciation of the French trunks. I'm slowly getting hooked on these!!
    32. Drill Drill, 10 years ago
      Make sure You get to see the History of the Hotel Zurich,in Switzerland Baur au Lac
      And realize it has been around since 1844 ,170+ years in the same family.A 5 star gem. As well as the Hotel Russel in London with its rich history. Just one Quirky
      Tid Bit . There are many ---"Home to Lucky George a resident bronze dragon who sits atop the 2nd floor stairs. One of 2 bronze Dragons Fitzroy Doll( a renowned architect of his time) had molded . The other is located 2.5 miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean on RMS Titanic . Cheers!
    33. jscott0363 jscott0363, 10 years ago
      Wow!! Drill, I found the Hotel Russell in London, but had no success on the Hotel Zurich until now. What an incredible hotel!! The person who owned this trunk originally, must have been quite the expensive traveler!! Thanks so much for all of your fantastic info. This is what I love about CW!!
      Happy New Year my Friend!!!
    34. jscott0363 jscott0363, 5 years ago
      Jenni
      Drill
      and
      myoldkyhome
      Thank you all very much for the loves, comments and for stopping in!!!
    35. jscott0363 jscott0363, 2 years ago
      vcal
      and
      Jenni
      Thank you both so very much for the loves and for stopping in!!

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.