Posted 12 years ago
myoldkyhome
(22 items)
I bought this at a flea market today. I believe that it's a Jenny Lind trunk with the keyhole end. It is canvas covered, which I know is unusual since most are covered in leather. It appears that someone has put stain and polyurethane over the outside of it, but I'm not sure. I found one on the Internet that looked very similar to this one with the same color of stain and was supposedly in its original state. I believe that if it was originally this color that someone has probably stained and polyurethaned over it at some point. Some of the stain is off in a couple of places so I can see the old canvas underneath, which is part of how I can tell that it is old. The buttons on the outside do not appear to be brass but they appear to have been painted over - so I can't say for sure. Someone has put some type of cheap liner on the inside. It does not have a tray but does have the compartment in the lid. It does has both leather handles on the ends in tact. I'm am trying to find out if anyone out there knows if this seems to be a Jenny Lind trunk? Also if anyone has any other information that would be helpful, I would appreciate it.
Nice find.
That is a Jenny Lind trunk -- no doubt. They were not always covered in leather -- during the civil war most trunk were covered in paper or canvas -- yours is probably civil war era in age. The steel banding was common to, as it was more expensive to make them out of brass. You could take off the canvas and refinish the trunk if you are brave. It is a nice example -- I have one on my site for comparison. Great find, they do not come up very often!
Thanks Trunkman! I was hoping that you would be on here and would confirm for me. I'm thrilled. I don't think the person had a clue what they had. I am planning to be brave and remove the canvas. I will go take a look at yours. Any tips on getting the canvas off would be appreciated.
You are welcome! It is a thrill to find these rarer type trunks. I have two and it took a long while to find them. I use an exacto knife or box cutter blade to cut along the seams to remove the canvas. Then it is a cloth with warm water and a scraper to remove the residue glue, followed by a rub with fine steel wool. Good luck -- make sure you post the result!
Ok. Thanks. I wouldn't have had a clue about how to going about removing the canvas. I will definitely post the result!
Thanks for the love everyone!
you got it kid -- she is a jenny lind and in really good condition -- you are very lucky on this one in regards to leather -- many were the paper -- be careful if you try to restore -- call me and we can talk
360-433-2805