Posted 13 years ago
jlennongrrl
(173 items)
Late 1800's round top ship trunk. It was owned by the late Ellen Hunt out of Farmington, MO. The trunk still has it's original leather handles, and all four wheels. Made from wood and canvas. Complete with it's original compartments. Dimensions are as follows: Height: 25.50" Length: 38.00" Width: 23.25"
Sweet -- trunks like these make me drool. Any chance of getting a close up of the centre lock -- it looks ornate. So many of these are missing their trays. Thanks for the post.
Give me just a sec and I'll post them...gotta remove one of the others. This one has 2 trays. Has an OLD smell to it, kinda strong. Any ideas on how to do away with that?
Now, does would it be better to have this trunk restored? Or just leave it alone? The smell is the major concern for me.
It looks to be in pretty good shape so the restoration question becomes more a personal preference one. Also the green canvas I find more appealing than the brown ones. If it is musty or smells of mildew it may need to be aired out for a few days -- even in the sun open if you can. After that stick a fabric softner sheet in it, it is amazing how well they work. If you can see mould in the corners or foxing on the cloth then replacing the interior cloth may be the next step. Comes off easy with water, much like wallpaper. Thanks for the picture of the lock -- it is very nice and one I have not seen before. Hope this helps a little.
I actually *LOVE* how it looks and personally I think I got it for a steal. The girl was moving and just wanted it out. I paid her $125. =) The smell is much like an insanely old house. I want to use the trunk for blankets, and wont be able to if I can't get it smelling better. Is there any way to find out the exact date of it? I just put what the girl told me.
Exact dates are hard to come by for these. Sometimes the lock has a patent date that could tell you at least its earliest date. It looks to me to be about a early 1900's trunk, with what appears to be an older lock. Your pictures are good but it is a bit hard to tell from them what the corner pieces and slat holders are made of, which helps in the dating. Looking at it again I could see that there is nice quality there so at late 1890's date would also fit. Nice buy!
I would suggest leaving a couple of pieces of charcoal in a shallow bowl in the trunk (closed up) for a couple of days. It will help with the smell. Trunkman is correct when he suggest some strong sunshine also.
Thank you, boonsborotrunks. I'll have to try that. I've had this trunk a little over 24 hours and I'm madly in love with it. Showed a bunch of people pictures of it, and one lady is delusional in thinking I'm gonna sell to her. Sorry people, definitely not LOL. I'm amazed that the original buyer couldn't sell for $375. What would something in this good of shape be valued at?