Posted 6 years ago
Maryd91
(1 item)
I’d like to get some information on my trunk. I plan to restore it but I’m just curious on it’s background.
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Posted 6 years ago
Maryd91
(1 item)
I’d like to get some information on my trunk. I plan to restore it but I’m just curious on it’s background.
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It just seems to have acquired some honest age unless I am missing something. I wouldn't take it away. Looks good as is to me.
Thank you! It looks like the outside may have been painted over, you can kind of see a goldish finish. The inside paint is chipping really bad and I’d like to replace the broken handle and lock. I’m really interested in the story behind the picture on the inside!
I don't believe your trunk has been painted, what your seeing is whats left of the original finish, which was what they called a crystallized tin, it kind of looked like a frosted window, yours was gold in color although it came in many colors, silver, green, blue , orange, but gold was the most popular. your trunk is probably from around early to mid 1880's. The front latches were patented around 1882 to 84, I can't remember exactly , in 1880 Charles Taylor patented a cross slat design, wood slats running from to back, yours run from end to end, this design for the most part was fazed out through the mid 1880's, greendog.
Thank you so much!! Would you happen to know the history behind the photo?
I believe that is Queen Alexandra of England photo inside your lovely trunk :-)
https://windowstoworldhistory.weebly.com/queen-alexandra-of-great-britain---queen-victorias-daughter-in-law-berties-patient-wife-and-her-own-person.html
The lithographs used in trunks were totally random and had no specific meaning, and I don't believe they were of any particular person, it was just a way to dress up the interior of the trunk. greendog.
Hi Maryd91,
Please, please, please, please don't try a restoration - your trunk is an antique, and I believe it will lose a lot of the value if restored.
This is always the big question, restore/ refinish or not, will I destroy the value of my trunk ? with the exception of a few trunk makers, Louis Vuitton, just to name one, the answer is no! you will not hurt the value. 90% of the trunks we find are in desperate need of refinishing to some point, from a light cleaning to a total refinishing or restoration. Personally, and this is just me, I don't like a rusty, dirty, musty smelling trunks setting in my house, this trunk, like most has very little value as is, if you do a good job on it, the value will increase, this is only my opinion based on buying trunks for very little and selling them for hundreds more than I paid , greendog
I disagree they are often of a famous woman and I do believe it is Queen Alexandra . I have restored trunks and personally prefer them clean but always a collectors choice .
That's fine , if we didn't disagree on things we wouldn't be human, I suppose it's possible, however in all the trunks I have refinished , restored and looked at, I've yet to see a lithograph of anyone that had a name on it stating who it was, if you have one, please show me, just because a lithograph looks similar to someone doesn't make it so, my point was that lithographs were random and had no bearing on the trunk itself, greendog
Value isn’t a concern for me I like my trunk and plan on keeping it but it’s dirty and very musty smelling as well as a broken handle and latch so it does need a little updating, I don’t plan on completely changing the look of the trunk just making it clean. Thank you all so much :)