Posted 10 years ago
jscott0363
(903 items)
The latest addition to my top hat and trunk collection. Here is a antique Colbert beaver silk top hat and leather trunk. It was made by Colbert expressly for the Marshall-Field & Co. store in Chicago. Marshall-Field & Co. was an upscale department store that was founded in Chicago in 1852. They were bought out by Macy's, I believe in 2005, and the last Marshall-Field store was closed in 2006.
The trunk is made of leather and in very good condition for it's age. The initials on the side of the hat trunk (CHC) are also the same initials inside of the top hat. The beaver silk top hat is also in very good condition, given it's age. For those of you wondering, the velvet pillow is a hat polishing pillow. Most did not survive, so it's very rare to find the complete original set with trunk, hat and hat polishing pillow. The hat polishing pillow also has the Marshall-Field & Co. logo on it.
I'm not quite sure of the age of this one, but, judging by the type of handle and latch used, I'm going to place this around 1900-1910. The trunk has a serial number stamped into the leather on the back that reads 1003. This is the first top hat trunk that I've ever seen a serial number stamped on.
Thanks for looking!!
Scott
Nice addition to your awesome collection Scott!
very beautiful!!
Thanks pops!!
Thanks Sean!!
Thanks PatSea!! This hat is way small, but I still couldn't pass it up.
Thanks for the love petey!!
Love the look of this one Scott! Very nice!
Thanks Julie!! This one has a slightly nicer interior than some of my others do.
Thanks for the loves
fortapache
racer4four
kydur
vetraio5-
offialfuel
Julie
Patsea
Sean
pops
and
petey!!
Thanks Cindy!!
Thanks for the loves
Cindy
and
trgrubaugh
I do appreciate it very much!!
Thanks for the love walksoftly!!
Thanks for the love freiheit!
Thanks for the love SherwoodTrunks!!
Lovely post! Why is it called beaver silk? Is it because of the thickness of it? Beaver fur is very soft and thick with lots of strands. Sorry if the question sounds a bit dum but I'm interested in why it's called that :)
I understand, thankyou for a very interesting lesson on this! I've heard the word and always wondered about it. Thankyou!
Thanks chrissylovescats for the love!! I do appreciate it!!
Thanks clockerman for the love!!
Wow, beautiful hat and trunk! Great addition to your collection. I have one old masonic hat and trunk, but of course a totally different style. I think you are probably pretty close on the age, or could be a little older. Some mink oil polish would be great for the leather trunk, unless you prefer to use some other preservative polish.
Thanks TrunkerMarvin!! I do appreciate the comment and love. Since I posted this one, I have glycerin saddle soaped it and conditioned it with some high quality mink oil. I also applied a very light coat of leather dye to even out the color of the trunk. Made a world of difference. You're probably right that it may be a little older than 1900. Glad you like it.
Thanks for the love surfdub66!!! Much appreciated!
Thanks for the love Trey!! Much appreciated!!
nothing like a beaver on your head ....smiling
Thanks for the comment Roycroftbooksfromme1. Thanks for the appreciation as well.
Thanks for the love wruthie1984. Much appreciated!!!
Jenni,
hunterglee,
clockerman
and
vcal
Thank you all very much for the loves and for stopping in!!!