Posted 10 years ago
bluecaly
(2 items)
I recently bought this steamer trunk and need more information on it. Any information would be greatly appreciated. It seems to be from around the 1880s. Sadly the inner compartments have been removed :(. Does anyone know where I could find new compartments?
Nice looking old trunk bluecaly. I'm afraid I can't help you much as far as dating the thing, pretty new at this myself, other than to say you probably aren't too far off. It seems most of the trunks you can find were made in the late 1800s to early 1900s from what I have read. There is a lot online to learn about trunks if you look around. It seems quite a lot of the trunks out there are missing the inner trays and such but here is a place that will build one for you.
http://www.brettunsvillage.com/trunks/howto/parts/tray.htm
Bluecaly, Nice trunk....the parts I can definitely identify by age (patented years) are the lock and front latches. The lock is a type patented in 1877 by Star Lock Works of Philadelphia. The front latches were patented in 1882 by a trunk parts maker in CT. But those were all used by many trunk makers for at least 25 years after those dates. Judging by the overall look of the trunk I can say these were made from the late 1880's to the 1910's. That's based on the collection of old trunk catalogs and patent documents that I've collected in 40 years of trunk collecting and research. So your trunk could have been made any time during that period. The inside trays were usually made with 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch pine or basswood. You can find pictures of similar trays and make a replacement yourself if you wanted. I make them for some of the trunks I restore also. I hope that helps some.
TrunkerMarvin ThisOldTrunk.com