Posted 12 years ago
Acadiandri…
(2 items)
I bought this at a recent auction sale and am intersted in finding out more of it's history. In particular....if anyone knows anything of the manufacturer - Archibald & Foster. I am curious to know if it is an American piece or from Europe. The trunk is approx. 24" x 14' x 14'
Also....should I try to clean it and if so with what?
That is a fabulous soft top trunk -- same type style and age as mine. I suggest you fill the top compartment with some cloth to pop it up and have it formed -- mine came like yours and I stuffed it to bring it to life. I took a little dish soap and warm water for a light clean. I also mink-oiled the leather on mine (it will darken the places where the coating has worn off) but there are a lot of opinions on how to treat leather and some would advocate against mink oil. Great that you have the makers label -- that is a real bonus. Also to still have the trap-door lid which mine is missing is another plus as well as having some of the leather strapping left. The tooled leather looks great. (pretty sure these are American made) All in all a great example of this type of rare trunk - thank you so much for posting it and sharing your find!
The tooling is wonderful, a great purchase!
I would look on line for city directories of Ogdensburg, NY, you may find a listing in there for this company.
Thanks for catching that walksoftly....I spoke to a lady at the Ogdensburg Public Library today and she is going to do some research and see if she can find the manufacturer. In fact...Ogdensburg used to be spelled with an H...Ogdensburgh and this is how is seems to appear on my label....this could help to establish how old it is. I don't live very far from that location in upstate NY so makes sense it could have come from there. Pretty cool!!!
Always glad to help, keep us posted on your progress & any info.
Welcome to CW
Is the leather on top dry & hard?
The decision to change the appearance of an antique is controversial, including cleaning, restoring, etc. If you are the owner and there is no provenance and the item is not in 'original condition' and you plan to keep it, I see no reason not to clean and preserve the item. But those trunks use as seats adds a lot of personality to them, a personal touch I find endearing(no pun intended).
If you clean, try an inconspicuous spot first, low on the back or the bottom. A good rule of thumb when cleaning antiques is to use as little cleaning agent as you can get away with. If anything goes wrong with the process, at least it won't show too much or do too much damage. Use saddle soap as a cleaner if you can, it has the mild soap you want plus natural ingredients beneficial to leather(neatsfoot oil, lanolin, beeswax). You might not need to use oil, but if you decide to, use it sparingly. Google 'leather conservation" to help you decide.
Thanks for the advice. I live in the country so can easily lay hands on some saddle soap. The leather is very hard on the top so would likely need to be softened up before any attempts to reform the lid. I think I will just clean it for now. I'll keep you all posted on the feedback from the library re the maker.
Ogdensburgh is in New York. They dropped the h in the end sometime after 1865.
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