Posted 7 years ago
Collector1…
(1 item)
I recently bhought this trunk. There are several patent dates on the locks and tray. I know that does not say anything when this trunk was made. I guess it is made around 1870. Does anyone know by who this trunk was made? There are two separate locks you can turn in lock position. The main lock is without key unfortunatly.
Thx!
Nice trunk, without a makers label very hard to say, the latches you refer to as locks, were probably used by many trunk makers, I think your trunk is closer to 1880 because of the reissue date of 1876 on the tray, but all in all very nice, greendog.
Thx for you reaction. Can you tell me what key I need for this lock? I cant see a key number on the lock. Is there any change I can identify this trunk by old catalogue's or archives? If so where can I find them? Does the embossed pattern tell something about the maker or date?
No, I can't tell you what key # it is, never seen a key hole like that before, almost looks like you are missing part of the lock, where the key go's in, the two holes on the sides of the big hole are for two brass or steel pins that attached the key hole to the lock face. The tin pattern was a common one used by many makers, I have seen it a lot, You can check with Jim Cardoza at H.M.S. antique trunks or Marvin Miller at This old trunk, they have a lot of info, some trunks can be identified by hardware alone, Martin Maier is one, but most you can't, unless it has a label .
Ok thank you for your quick reply. In the meantime I also contacted Marvin Miller. This trunk was most likely made in Chicago by Herman Vogler around 1882 - 1890. So a little mystery is almost solved. Thanks again.
Your welcome, glad I could be of some help to you, greendog.
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US192355-0.png
The latch hardware patent.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US155601-0.png
Trunk patent that may apply to the tray.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US168544-0.png
Another H. Vogler trunk patent
Enjoy!