Posted 4 years ago
Pcristinac12
(1 item)
Hello there! A friend has found this and is working to restore it.
Wondering what year this canvas steamer trunk could be from? Guess circa 1880-1900?
And what could this inscription mean “A.S. Germt N.”? A name & hometown of the owner i.e, germantown in short?
The lever has a bow shape symbol and side plates have a flower round shape.
In all side corners there is a “S”. Which might be the manufacturer.
Here is a list of manufacturers of the time if helpful for others (thanks other users for the useful replies!)
http://www.hmsantiquetrunks.com/trunk-makers-list.html
I would say 1890's give or take a bit, the stenciled letters I would say is the persons name, destination would have been a label of some kind tacked on the trunk, this is a very common style of trunk made by hundreds of American trunk makers at the time without a makers label hard to say who the maker was.
Thanks for taking the time to reply!
I think it’s a name as well
I got some clues but one doesn’t have a source to confirm if martin meier (pin-interest) - the lever if you zoom in has the same bow-type symbol
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/70228075412955344/
The trunk model shape is closer to drucker (levers shape too)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Drucker-Steamer-Travel-Trunk-1897-/264828782498
Chas t wilt
http://www.thepirateslair.com/741-low-profile-flat-top-steamer-trunk.html
Crough Fitzgerald
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Crough-Fitzgerald-Steamer-Trunk-Green-Canvas-Leather-Brass-Studs-c1900-/283917905438
I just noticed it has a “S” in both sides, i have uploaded the photo
I don't think the first trunk is a Martin Maier, I'm not sure what makes her think that it is, I think its a Taylor trunk, most common trunks were very similar to each other, you could have two trunks that looked exactly the same and be made by two different makers, without a piece of Identifiable hardware like Martin Maier, Romadka Brothers, Drucker, which all had there own patented hardware, you will never know for sure, most trunk makers all used common hardware like Taylor or J.H. Sessions hardware, just because a trunk looks similar or has the same hardware means nothing.
Do you think the “S” could mean the brand name - it has “S” in all corners. Looking for old “S” starting names manufacturers found: Shwayder Trunk Company or Seward Trunk Co.
More than likely the S was the maker of the hardware and not the trunk itself, I've never seen this hardware before but it could be J.H. Sessions.
I believe that latch was patented by Charles Taylor 1878.
You can drive yourself crazy researching info trying to find a maker of your trunk, but like I said without a hardware ID or a makers label there's no way of knowing, believe me I know.
I believe you truly!! I saw this about jh sessions catalog, but none of the bolts had the bow symbol.
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/143795-additional-trunk-hardware-from-the-1915
And yes, looking at photos of Shwayder Trunk Company & Seward Trunk Co. trunks neither had models that resemble
The bow on the latch means nothing, it was simply a design, I have been collecting and restoring trunk for 10 years now, and In my opinion it really doesn't matter who made the trunk, there were thousands and thousands of trunk makers in the U.S. in the 1800's and I couldn't name you 20 of them without looking at a list, my point is that most of them disappeared from existence with very little if any info left behind, there's just not a ton of info out there.
Got it - the taylor trunk is really the best bet. the last imagine has an interesting catalog as well
http://www.hmsantiquetrunks.com/my-personal-collection-of-trunks-trunk-parts--ephemera.html
Granddaughter just brought me a trunk identical to your friends, only difference is the dome top.
Please let me know any info you find out. Also mine has same block letters with initials H.M.W.
That is lovely! Will you restore it? I got some ideas from Churchill’ restoration:
The S may stand for Secor. MM Secor was a large trunk and luggage manufacturing company who sold many trunks to Sears and Wards in the 1880s-1920s. Secor used a lot of parts that were produced by Taylor Trunk of Wyandotte, Michigan. That's my best guess for the letter S. The AS Germtn would have been the initials of the trunk's owner, and it looks like Ms or Mr AS lived in Germantown (abbreviated).
I looked for secor/sears models at the time. You should post the photo of yours too! Does it have the “S” in corners? Or any “d” or “mm”? The taylor latch is definitely close to this 1890 model
https://www.etsy.com/listing/685423066/1890s-original-5-new-old-stock-cast-iron
I don't see any letters but will keep looking. I have started to break it down and found some nice , looks to be pine and will give it a light stain. Being thick headed about how to post my pics so I wrote the site so they could walk me through it.