Posted 5 years ago
esegal
(12 items)
Doll/Toy/Salesman Sample Trunk; Needs restoration. Just getting started on it. I'm estimating the age to be circa early 20th century or late 19th. Has stamped steel elbow straps and disks, square nails, looks to be original paper lining and prints. exterior wood slats and metal all look original and in good condition. Having difficulty finding small replacement parts (original or even repros) for one missing disk and elbow strap) but still searching. Saw one similiar on ebay that I may buy for parts. Any ideas on materials for restoring tray lids would be appreciated or any other info on maker and dating would be greatly appreciated.
Salesman samples in just about anything are all good. You'll find what you need out there somewhere. Can't wait to see the end result!
OK esegal, I love these small children's or doll trunks and that's exactly what they are, they are not sample or salesman sample trunks. Trunk makers didn't make sample trunks and send them out to stores, if they did they would not have made them so flimsy with cheep tin hardware and locks and they would have a makers label in them to represent the company. when people went in to the stores, trunks were ordered from catalog's like Montgomery Wards, Sears & Roebuck that showed pictures, drawings of the exact trunk with specifications of the trunk. Things like stoves, washing machines, items that were big and heavy were made in exact working miniature models and were called salesman samples. A salesman sample trunk is a trunk that was made for a specific purpose with dividers and compartments for carrying the Salesman's or Carpetbagger's samples, whether it was perfumes or tonics or cleaners etc. these small fragile trunks are simply a children's toy or doll trunk, it wouldn't surprise me if some of them were made by a trunk maker out of scrap materials for a child's birthday or Christmas.
P.S. I would think 1880's or 90's