Posted 5 years ago
Gsp
(1 item)
Bought this trunk last weekend and was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of how old it might be? Would this be considered a steamer trunk? Thank for any information.
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No, this is not a steamer trunk, this is a Jenny Lind trunk, my guess would be very late 1860's to early 1870's you can always tell a Jenny by it's bread loaf or hour glass shape looking at the end of the trunk, I don't believe the latch on the front is original, there would have a lock of some sort, the trunk was most likely covered in leather with leather straps on each end, obviously this one has been refinished. steamer trunks were of a specific size short flat looking trunks in the area of 30 to 36 inches long and usually no more than 14 inches high, this size allowed them to slide under the berths or bunks of steamer ships. P.S. Jenny Lind was a Swedish opera singer that toured the U.S. in the early 1850's.
Also , this is an American made trunk and because of new found research by fellow trunker's on this site, this style of trunk was made from early 1840's to early to mid 1870's. still not sure of the latch on the front, have never seen one like it before, but just because you've never seen it, doesn't mean that they didn't come that way.
I thought it may have been refurbished. Don't know a lot about truncks, thought it was cool. Paid $175, not sure if that's good or not but I thought it was a neat peice. Thanks Greendog for the information. Really appreciate it!
I agree with Greendog ,the latch is not original to the trunk. Those type of fasteners
with the lid lifter option on the top half started in use in the 1900s. The trunk is a few decades before that time period. Below is an example of a similar design.
https://images.craigslist.org/00v0v_8bMOaGuiGtr_600x450.jpg