Posted 10 years ago
elocard
(1 item)
I have no experience at all with old chests. This one was on the curb with my Neighbor's trash last fall. I called my wife at work and asked her if we should grab it, and she said "absolutely not". At some point, someone took it, looked it over, and after deciding that they didn't want it, mistakenly put it on the curb with our trash. That seemed like some sort of sign that we should do something with it, so I grabbed the thing.
From what I can tell, it has five layers of paint on it. As you can see, we've managed to clear that away off of at least part of the trunk. It appears to me to be tin, with some sort of light-colored hardwood trim.
If anyone can provide any kind of information on how old this chest might be, and who might have manufactured it, it would be greatly appreciated.
Hi elocard, That's a very interesting story and I think it was meant for you to get this trunk and preserve it from destruction! I know it's a lot of work to remove the old paint. I first started working trunks about 40 years ago and I'm still at it. This type trunk is called a cross slat trunk, the design being patented in 1880 by Charles Taylor, a Chicago trunk maker. They were made in barrel / round top and flat top models. The latches look like a style Taylor patented in 1881, but there may be a patent date on them if you get the paint off and look closely. There were over a dozen different trunk latch styles patented in the 1880s, but many of the these trunks were made in the 1890's to 1910's with the same parts. Many American trunk companies made this style in a variety of sizes and models with different interiors. I've managed to collect several old trunk catalogs of the 1880s through 1920 that show a variety of these trunks. Keep up the good work and welcome to CW!
Marvin ThisOldTrunk.com
It's got at least part of the inserts which is pretty good.
5 layers of paint is a real chore,but it seems you are looking good so far. Be careful one of the first trunks I refinished had about the same level of paint to remove.Fourteen years later here I am still completely hooked on bringing them back to life. You will find that there are so many different types and styles to keep you going.Just take a look at all the past posts on this site.Thanks for pulling it from the trash heap.Make sure you show us when your done. Much luck and welcome.