Posted 6 years ago
jimallbright
(1 item)
Family legend says that this trunk was brought from Germany before 1850. The walls are made of 11 alternating 1"x 1" pieces of two different kinds of wood. The bottom of walls are 6" high. The lid is framed by 3" boards front and back with 4" boards on the ends arched down to 3" at the corners. There is colored printed tissue paper (not newsprint) lining the lid. It has metal casters on the bottom and the bottom is not planed smooth. There are metal handles on the ends. The corners appear to be handmade dovetails and a hand cut oak leaf with the key hole.
I don't know how old the trunk is but, if it were prior to 1850's, I would expect to see rose head nails, which are hand made nail's, all the nail head's I see appear to be modern flat head nails, also lid hinges look to modern for 1850 and the wheels and screw heads don't look right for 1850 or before. I could be wrong but it just doesn't look 1850 or before to me, greendog.
Legend says to me more like 1950 or later !!~
It has to be at least a hundred years old because my mother-in-law said it was in her parents home all of her life and she would be 102 years old
My research found that the printed paper was in use starting about 1850 but most dovetails were machine cut starting about 1810. By 1880 most nails were round wire machine cut
I researched butt hinges and they were used thru out the Victorian Era (1834 - 1901)
I don't disagree that it could be over 100 years old, I just don't think it's 1850 or before, a hundred years ago is 1917, greendog
Greendog - I agree.