Posted 10 years ago
jodilynn121
(1 item)
We received this as a hand me down from my in-laws, and I believe it would have been from the family when they came over from Germany. It causes lots of injuries with its sharp metal edges, so we were wondering if it was worth restoring, or if it is even possible to do without spending a ton of money? Can anyone help me out with any details or info on a trunk like this?
I absolutely think it's worth restoring. It shouldn't take a lot of money to do it. It looks like it's in pretty good shape. I like the alligator skin pattern on the embossed tin and love the lithograph on the inside.
NICE. (too short to poste, so) Nice, very nice. Oh! And welcome to CW. One of the larger cyber-asylums O/L.
Very clean 1880's or so American camel back or dome top trunk ,(most were made here and then shipped throughout europe for immigrants to use for the migration to America).Not German!,Go count all the nails that were hand hammered, when you hit 200 take a breath, count some more and realize what a special time period that this item was created in. Always worth restoring in my opinion.The interior Brain pattern paper mixed with the stripe pattern and all the trimmings are wonderful to see in tact.Protection of the paper with a clear coat decoupage coating or a water based clear varathane should do the trick. Shame not to see the interior tray that would have accompanied this fine lady. The desirable alligator pattern can be painted with a quality metal paint as well as the metal hardware at minimal cost. The slats should be sanded and tung oil applied. Good old fashioned american elbow grease and a love for the item doesn't hurt the pocketbook to much.If you don't feel you can do it yourself there are plenty of pros who can (all on the i-net of course). Good luck and welcome.
I have a restored version of this exact trunk! it's stunning..i paid $350 for my restored trunk. It's absolutely worth the repairs..I agree with Drill above. Mine is about 1860's trunk and I also believe yours to be a Victorian era trunk 1870-1880's. Dome tops are more valuable and would have cost more back when , usually someone with money had these and it being a dome top ensured that their trunk would not have been on the bottom while on a carriage journey. Nothing could be stacked on a dome! Flat top trunks were generally owned by the more common folk and being that it had a flat top, other trunks would have been stacked on top of them. Dome tops were usually owned by women and the upper tray/lid area held the "ladies" goodies...hats, writing materials/books etc.../
hang on to this!! if lock is still in tact, check for any identifiable writing...manuf etc..