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Another Mystery Trunk!! Please Help!

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Furniture5209 of 14272marble top chest of drawersAntique Armoire
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    Posted 7 years ago

    DennisRS
    (2 items)

    I found this trunk in an attic of an old house in Hamtramck Michigan. The trunk itself is still on solid condition aside from the leather handles that are dried out and have fallen apart. The exterior of the trunk appears to have some sort of thin metal or tin lining on the entire trunk.

    I have been unable to find any kind of branding or identification stampings or numbers and was curious if anyone has seen something like this or the trunk I posted earlier today. The interior of the trunk appeared to have an old wallpaper or something put on the liner, I cannot tell if it was original or put on by somebody.

    Just like my other trunk ----- I really would love to have this trunk cleaned and possibly restored, however I don't want to "ruin" an extremely old and awesome trunk. I would love to put this as a piece in my home and be able to share the history or story of it!. Please help! If you know anything about this or can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated!

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    Comments

    1. Drill Drill, 7 years ago
      http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US721165-0.png
      edge Bumper patent
      http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US986841-0.png
      latch patent. Mottled finish on exterior metal of the trunk made by the thousands
      by multiple manufacturers .1900 to 1920s or so.
      Thanks for the posts.
    2. DennisRS, 7 years ago
      Im assuming the metal has a patina on it. In the world of cleaning these things up for use, would you or anybody recommend trying to clean the metal surface up? There appears to be water spots or something on it anyhow.

      Regarding the trunk itself, my impression is this is an everyday run of the mill trunk? Any way to tell if these things originally came from overseas or what type of person may have owned these? Blue collar laborer types?

      Thanks Drill, and anybody that can help.
    3. Drill Drill, 7 years ago
      https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/58/6a/93/586a9352632d3fe0497e9353db676f05.jpg

      This is a better example of a mottled finish(those spots you speak of) It was a long chemical process applied to the metal .Pipes /heat and chemical reactions were used to create this effect. It is pretty run of the mill though. It was definitly made in America by many manufacturers. Not a high value trunk so it is quite safe to do what you wish with it.I would try soapy water and a rag first to see if it will bring up the finish bit and then maybe some non abrasive metal cleaner with some oil in it to protect . Good luck !
    4. Drill Drill, 7 years ago
      P.S. the wood slats will clean up and can be sanded stained, tung oiled etc. The metal corners and hardware can also be painted. If you are unhappy with the look of those spots,that too can always be painted.

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