Posted 7 years ago
slazu
(3 items)
I'm trying to learn some more information about this trunk.
The only marking I can find on it is on the bottom where it has '345' stamped on one of the wooden slats.
The dimensions are 32-1/4" wide, 29" high (highest point of dome), and 18-3/4" deep.
I'm thinking about trying to restore it but I don't want to do anything that might damage or devalue it before knowing some more about it.
If anybody can provide any information on it that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Beautiful trunk, this is what I would say is a Saratoga trunk, they were very ornate with lots of hardware, I love the lock on it,I have yet to find one with this kind of lock. Saratoga refers to trunks that were made for the well to do people that would vacation in Saratoga springs N.Y. they wanted flashy fancy trunks and they were dubbed Saratoga trunks. Your trunk has already been refinished at least once, so you will not hurt any value, I don't think it was originally all black, more likely crystallized tin would be my guess. So go for it ! P.S. no clue what the number on the bottom is for, it could refer to the trunk or it could be reclaimed wood they wasted nothing back then. Good luck.
Also I think your trunk is from around 1885 to 1895 give or take a bit.
Thanks very much for all of the info! I appreciate it. It's too bad there's no manufacturer's mark on it. I would've liked to find out some more about where it was made, etc.
From the research I've done, I'm guessing it's worth somewhere in the $150 - $300 (CDN) range as is. Does that seem fairly accurate?
I actually don't mind the weathered kind of look on the outside of it so I'm not sure I'll do much with the exterior. I might clean up the interior a bit and maybe apply a clear coat or stain. What are your thoughts?
Hey slazu, we don't talk value to much on the C.W. a lot of it depends on your location as far as value, I see a lot of over priced common trunks, but some trunks are worth quite a bit of money. I always say a trunk is worth what someone will give you for it. Your in the ball park just have to find the right person, love the trunk.
Yeah, I don't plan on selling it anyways. I've got a project in mind. I was thinking more along the lines of if it's only worth a couple hundred dollars then I won't be nervous about trying to fix it up myself. If it was worth in the thousands then I'd have second thoughts! haha
Just so you know, in my opinion your trunk is not a plain Jane common trunk it has a lot going for it, the lock is awesome and has very nice hardware on it. It was a top of the line trunk of it's day, the only thing that would have made it a super trunk in it's day is if it would have been covered with leather in stead of tin but very nice trunk.
A very nice trunk, I agree probably from about 1885 to about 1900, even though a few were made into the 1910's. It does have the better than average cast hardware and the lock is great and a pretty rare style. Some of the makers did call these a Saratoga while some just called them a barrel top trunk or a Cross slat round top trunk. The numbers on the bottom were most likely the makers model number and I've seen similar markings on the bottom of quite a few trunks I've had. Also, many trunks of that time period are found without a maker's label or other markings. Marvin ThisOldTrunk.com
http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US986841-0.png
this might be your trunk latch patent.
Thanks very much for the info, TrunkerMarvin!
Drill, that's interesting about the patent. Would it then be safe to assume that it was made by a company in Atlanta? It looks like that's where the patent was applied for.
I would say no! Because literally 100s of thousands of trunks have these latches with multiple manufacturers from all across the United States at the time.This is only a patent,There is nothing to say that the inventor didn't just sell the patent and let others elsewhere handle production and manufacturing.Many times inventors were quite happy to just receive royalties on their designs. Having said that, without a label or hardware that is exclusive to one company. It is just not possible to tell the
Who made it? and Where did it come from?Hope this helps, nice trunk and thanks for the post.