Posted 3 years ago
kamurray27
(1 item)
I've been given an old steamer trunk which I'm looking to research a bit more about such as style of trunk, country/ name of manufacturer and likely date.
I can't find any maker labels and I'm wondering if the design holds any clues or is it quite generic? The front has an address label dated 1898, the lock is stamped with VR Secure and a crown mark, there are various travel labels on one side including 'New York Transfer - Dodds Express - Union Transfer Company', 'Jackson's Express Grand Central Depot' and 'Cunard Line'. The inside of the trunk has a lining/ wrapping paper from the Heals & Sons department store in London, UK.
I would welcome any insights on the likely origins of this trunk.
I believe the trunk is American made, the front latches were patented in 1882 by Charles Taylor, Lancaster is Lancaster, England, but millions of trunks were made in America and sent to Europe, the VR with the crown, refers to Queen Victoria but does not mean it was from royalty, simply that it was patented during the Victorian era, you find this mark on many different items such as guns, not sure on who made the lock or when it was patented it could be English or American, because of the front latches your trunk was made 1882 or after as hardware was used for decades.
Also without a makers label or identifiable hardware almost impossible to say who the maker was.
Thanks for this info. Does the interior give any clues as I haven't seen any others with the same colours and pattern for the paper? The cross on the side looks like the Saint-Maurice cross, I'm not sure if that means the owner was a member of that religious order. Could Lancaster be Lancaster, USA rather than Lancaster, England? The address label on the trunk is Edinburgh, Scotland so I am wondering if it was shipped from the USA to Scotland. Thanks
Most trunk makers interiors were random, all trunk makers used the same lithograph pictures and trims, the answer to your other questions is yes anything is possible.