Posted 6 years ago
MNNorth
(5 items)
Maybe I bit off more than I can chew on this one- kind of tough condition. But the original newspaper in the bottom sucked me in. From that and a last name on the side I was able to find out who the original owner was. Mary Parker Whitcraft 1850-1939. She lived in Anaconda, Montana in 1910- the newspaper is from there on that date.
Any opinions on if the leather is too far gone to try and restore? The front lath is pretty beat up also. I love the hardware- no clues as to the trunk maker. The lock is Corbin Cabinet Company- "New Monitor" Pat. Oct '83. No key- anyone know what would fit? I already got a replacement Taylor side latch for the one missing from HMS-
Wish me luck; give me advice- any or all of the above.
Hey MNNorth, this trunk looks familiar to me, like I have seen it before, anyway this trunk has great potential, I think you should remove the leather because of what I see on the one end, as for the front slat you can try sanding it or replace it, probably made in late 1880's, lid lift was patented around 1886 or 87 if I remember correctly, without a makers label hard to say, great trunk, wish it was mine, any questions, don't be afraid to ask, greendog.
Thank-you Greendog. I love your Martin Maier leather trunks- I can't find anything that spectacular around here. Yes I'm leaning toward the removal of the leather but I did order some restoration products to see what, if anything, they can do first. For sure the ends are shot.
I was removing the paper from under the lid and found writing 84 XXX Eugene. I wonder if that's who built it.
It may not be a Martin Maier, but it's still a great trunk, this was a higher end trunk with the leather and all the cast hardware, trunks like this were built by several people, one would build the wood box, one would put tin or canvas or leather on and pass it down the line until it was done. Eugene obviously was a worker, the numbers indicated size, what to cover the trunk with, hardware and so on. I posted one very similar to your's a few month's ago that had leather on it, I cut it off and it looked real nice, check it out, it will give you some idea, greendog.
Perfect greendog, exactly what I would hope to achieve with mine thanks!
I started to work on the interior trays this morning- scraping the paper off the compartments and I found first a 1873 green George Washington 3 cent stamp under the edge of peeling paper. Cancelled unfortunately. Next I found a 2 inch gold hat pin with a rhinestone at the end. The stone had fallen out but was wedged under a board and the pin was bent. I think I'll take it to the jewelry store and get it repaired.
I did remove all the exterior leather- what a pain and the wood underneath was not in the best condition- very dry and some dry rot too. But it's been a fun project nonetheless- pictures coming soon.
Beautiful Trunk. I have one similar with the same leather and pattern. I got lucky with the leather and was able to keep it. Would love to see how it turned out.