Posted 6 years ago
Im4anythin…
(91 items)
Picked up this Antique Barrel top Trunk the other day measures 34L x 28T x 19D very heavy. No maker label. Not sure of time period but it has a collage of mixed hardware including mostly Patented Sessions and tin stamped. The exterior is all original finish but more so worn on the top, but overall the metal condition is excellent and the interior is complete. It is my third encounter of swivel wheels on the bottom, but these are small tiny swivel wheels, didn't see that coming. One is broken. Cast star handle caps. Corbin patent 1887 lock. Lastly it came with some great paper items with a starting date of 1854 and ending with the 1901 Pan american exposition . Quit a few mid 1800's company mail and full color letter heads which I really like being a paper guy as well. Also a pile of personal letters which I have yet to peruse. Someone has removed the stamps. This was a family member who collected them as indicated in the 3 page exposition letter stating that Gladys has sent Peter some exposition stamps and card for his collection. Also had a wool antique coat in the bottom from Montreal. With all consider it made for a fairly neat and joyous purchase ... lol
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US362986-0.png
Hasp lock patent. F.W. Mix, Nice find.
Thanks Drill once again!! Why would Corbin name be on it? Did they buy other peoples patents?
Thanks for the loves!!
trunkman
fortapache
blunderbuss2
usedcarlady
And of course Drill for some great data!!
https://books.google.com/books?id=y_CErQvcbPEC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=F.W.+Mix+history&source=bl&ots=Tu1BIb4u5H&sig=03Migr1s2xiwbisBfhpjJRHwCKg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR9-u1svXcAhWHNd8KHYmVCEYQ6AEwBHoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=F.W.%20Mix%20history&f=false
F.W. Mix held many trunk patents he was a major player.
Here is a pretty good explanation!Yes there was a lot of moving parts/alliances,and personnel shifting from company to company etc. Some concerns rising other falling
as capitalism and the industrial revolution worked it's magic.
Thanks Drill very interesting. Do you have any patent information regarding the cheap tin stamped slat clamps on this trunk or the other. I have always wondered when factually these began. Thanks so much if you do!! Tom
Hello Tom, Just some follow-up information regarding the hardware and determining the date of a trunk. As Drill pointed out, and many people don't realized, is that individuals who worked for companies such as Corbin or Eagle lock companies often obtained the patents for items such as locks, casters, latches, etc. Frank Mix worked for Eagle and then later worked for Corbin. Corbin would have either purchased the patent, or had some other arrangement with Mix to use the patent, so they could make them and put their name on them. Sometimes an individual patented a trunk part and then sold or assigned it to a manufacturer, such as the Sessions Trunk Hardware Company. Many trunks have a mixture of cast and stamped hardware and locks, patented at different times, such as from the mid to late 1870's to as late as the 1890's, but those parts were often used for up to 20 or even 30 years! You also have to consider parts or items on the trunk which are not marked with a patent date such as some of the latches and even the metal covering. For example a very common style of latch such as those used on this trunk were patented in 1882 but used into the early 1920's. The crystallized metal covering didn't appear until the mid 1880's and was used mostly from about 1886 to the early 1920's. There were several patents for slightly different types of the rotating casters, patented in the mid to later 1880's. If the original lock has the patent date of 1887, obviously this trunk was not made prior to that date (although some similar trunks with earlier locks could be made prior to that date). Some parts, including some of the cheap stamped tin pieces, such as the slat clamps on this trunk do not have their own patent. That is because a patent was already issued for the cross slat trunk and the clamps in March 1880. That patent was assigned by Charles Taylor to the Sessions Trunk Hardware company, who made them and sold them to makers across the country for a long time. They made them in several patterns and then later other hardware companies made similar clamps in other patterns. So, it's not always possible to tell exactly when some parts were actually made. When a patent expired, and was not renewed, then any company could make the part and that did happen also. Trunk maker catalogs that I own show a variety of similar trunks being sold into the 1910's and a large trunk hardware company catalog I own shows all these types of hardware still being sold in 1916. Therefore don't assume that a trunk with patent dates of 1880 or 1887 were made in the 1880's. The most helpful thing to consider is the latest patented items on a trunk, in this case probably the crystallized metal and the lock. So the trunk was made sometime from about 1887 to the 1910's. It is a cross slatted barrel top trunk and these were made by MANY companies in the U.S. from the 1880's to late 1910's. Things didn't change quite as quickly back then as they do now. Even when there were newer style parts and locks, some companies still used the older styles for many years. I base all this information on many years of research, catalogs, ads, patent documents, and observation and not on what I've heard from many people who have never done any research. I hope that helps.
As always, Marvin imparts much wisdom. I'm always fascinated by just how many patents are out there, In an effort to share and shed some light ,here are a few more from F.W. Mix he was an amazing man and had many throughout the years.He would have been the right man for Corbin lock to acquire.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US344002-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US537700-1.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US537700-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US163230-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US365533-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US186746-0.png
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US285916-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US362986-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US352627-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US684080-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US285916-1.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US407366-1.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US362305-0.png
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US221595-0.png
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US551685-1.png
Wholly cow guys..Trunker Marvin And Drill, This pretty much sums it up for me..I need never to ask that question again stemming from my own ignorance. Thanks so much for finally resolving a hounding question that has been floating in my mind based on observation yet having no factually clarity. Again this will do perfectly and I thank-you both so much for taking the time TRULY . Now I can move forward in the trunk world with a cleaner and clearer mind where this question need never appear again...AHhhh!
https://books.google.com/books?id=jU6HCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA566&lpg=PA566&dq=Iron+bound+traveling+trunks&source=bl&ots=l7jGrrKInu&sig=9j-SNOJYtZd6i9kifed1xtyGwa8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBTgKahUKEwi_gOCF9uXIAhUBHj4KHV7XC1E#v=onepage&q=Iron%20bound%20traveling%20trunks&f=false
It's all good, a montgomery ward catalog from 1885
Thanks to all these fellow trunk lovers for the loves which is just as equal to my love to share with you guys and gals!! Thanks again!!
vintagegirl66
sugargirl
AnnaB
MooreAntique
Longings
oldpeep
EJW-54
mattress_cop
SpiritBear
officialfuel
I have been away but back now.....Thanks DRILL for the very cool info from 1885 . My personal catalog collection starts only at 1910 and I stopped 2005. They have served me well over the years. Always an excellent source for info pertaining to the time period and to anything and everything one could possibly think of. I am sure many other trunk lovers besides myself, love and appreciate the data you share on my posts. Thanks again from me and for our other fellow trunks lovers! Tom
Thanks for the loves!! FatBoy64 & MountainGirl