The hardwood slats are bent at a 90 degree angle and go from the front to the back valance. Needless to say I believed that this was yet another trunk "expert" who thought this sounded good. In any case, I doubt this person had any actual evidence to back up his statement. Well, I looked at pictures of the USS Monitor top, and bottom , and I can assure you there is nothing that supports that statement.
Really now, did I even need to look? Also stated was that these trunks. More often they simply describe the trunk see picture above as having a flat top, and rounded corners, or a round top trunk.
I give that percentage after viewing hundreds of these trunks. People nowadays have a need to label everything, and make some fantastic connection with a name. This is not to say that trunks were not named after a famous person, or thing. However, a trunk named Martha does not automatically mean Martha Washington, it could have been the trunk makers mother. This does not however, stop many from making this fantastic connection, and call it, not a possibility but, a fact.
Some trunk makers did have names for their trunks like Alice, Hector, America, and Beauty. Other makers used numbers like No. X, and No. However most referred to a trunk by what it was covered with, not its shape. Did you ever play that game in school where you whisper something to the person next to you and they do it, and so on? Then at the end the last person tells what he heard, and it is nothing like the original statement?
OK, now add years. Do I think the trunks that were named monitor have anything to do with the vessel? Sure, maybe. The USS Monitor was basically a tank on water. So, a trunk with that name would infer a study, durable trunk. However, to blindly make a statement, and call it a fact, is reckless. How can I date my trunk? How old a trunk is can be a more heated discussion that talking politics. If you can come within a 5 to 7 year range, I believe you are doing pretty good.
These guidelines are to help you narrow down the age of your trunk. Remember all of this information overlaps, and there is no date, and time when one style was switched to another. There are also no absolutes, as there are always exceptions. Think of this information as pieces to a puzzle, that when complete it is much more revealing. To determine the approximate age of your trunk you will have to look at a few things.
What a trunk is covered with can help you narrow down its age. Hair, Animal Hair, or Hide covered trunks.
These trunks were in use till around the early s. Usually smaller, with an animal hide, such as deer, used to cover the exterior. Many trunks were covered with flat, or an embossed pattern usually geometric of pure Zinc metal. If a trunk is Zinc covered it will have a gray appearance, and it will be non-magnetic. These trunks were prior to around , and we see the beginnings of Zinc on the bottoms of Jenny Lind trunks from the early s. Leather trunks have "been around forever", but the early s is when they started using tanned, tooled leather on trunks.
However, they were pretty much out of the picture by around the s except for a few high priced models, such as Sole Leather trunks, which were still being made until about Crystallized Metal. These trunks started appearing around , and went well into the s or early s. The finish looks like crystals in the metal, and these were colored with lacquer. Often the finish is very worn and those in excellent condition are hard to find.
But you can usually see traces of the original colors and crystal patterns around the edges and under the lid. Canvas covered trunks started appearing around , and went into the early s. The canvas, or Duck cloth, was painted to offer some waterproofing, and green being the most widely used color.
Embossed metal. Embossed metal trunks with floral, alligator, Lions, Tigers, an Bears…sorry, coverings started around , and went well into the early s. Latches or leather straps. Trunk latches were not in general use until Any trunk with latches was made after The strap, and dowel pin method a leather strap, and buckle like a belt, and a dowel pin used to keep the lid from shifting side to side was used prior to , and even a little while after.
Taylor in This style trunk was called the "New Design" or "Cross slat", and was extremely popular, and made by many trunk companies. While trunks with this design were made after , some trunks with slats running lengthwise side to side on top were still being manufactured.
So, if your trunk is a cross slat design, it was made after and possibly as late as about Patent Dates By law items such as locks, latches, slat clamps, etc. This is very helpful in dating a trunk. However, the law also states that items too small to put the date on were exempt so, not all patented items have the date on them. Trunk locks will often have more than one patent. This is because more than one patent applies to the lock, or a patent was reissued.
There may be a patent date on the latches, the lock, the casters, slat clamps, and interior pieces. Obviously, the most recent date is the oldest the trunk can be. We all want our antiques to be as old as possible so, it is human nature to push the envelope.
I have seen many trunks including yours that are all wooden, and others that have leather, or metal on them. I have even seen a trunk site that calls these "wooden trunks". Were these trunks made this way? Most times trunks that were covered with leather or canvas are beyond repair. The only thing left to do is remove all of the old covering, and finish the wood underneath. No travel trunks were produced without a covering of some sort. Weather it be rawhide, leather, metal, carpet, canvas, or Hardwood slats, all trunks had something on them to protect the box, and for appearance.
I have seen these trunk sites where trunks are described as "wooden" or having "wood panels". This is just plain wrong. If a refinished trunk is exposing the trunk box, something was removed. Think about it, a trunk maker would never expose the soft wood box to the elements. It would be like owning a car without a paint job.
Your car would rust, and look terrible! I see many types of trunks on eBay. Some look totally different but have the same name, "Steamer". What gives? I too have seen the term "Steamer" used incorrectly. If you were taking a trip on a steam ship, you were likely going somewhere for a long time, and you may have had a lot of luggage. Most vintage steamer trunks were made with wood slats, canvas or duck cloth, waterproof paper, and sometimes animal hide.
They were decorated with tin, either flat or embossed. High-end steamer trunks were covered in leather and typically had a unique metal design embossed into the material. Many higher end trunks also had internal tray compartments or trays that made them more effective for storing smaller personal items like jewelry or parasols. They were much more expensive than an empty antique trunk, required more craftsmanship, and were only used by the very wealthy who had these types of personal effects to store.
Steamer trunks were only popular for a short time, from about to People began traveling much farther and faster than they ever had in the past. By the late s, steamer trunks had started to go out of fashion.
They were replaced with larger trunk models that would act as a wardrobe and more modern luggage choices. Some of the more notable manufacturers of higher quality trunks made and installed proprietary hardware.
One such trunk maker manufacturer was Martin Maier. He ran a trunk business in Detroit, and his hardware was very identifiable. He used cast iron hardware and hinges and very ornate tin corner pieces. He also embellished each antique trunk with ornate tin pieces across the top and sides. Each piece is marked with either an M or a double M to signify its trunk maker manufacturer. His trunks are also largely identifiable by their rounded oak slats, each hand turned and specifically fitted for that space.
There were also very high end manufacturers that would compete with Goyard and Louis Vuitton trunk models who made steamer trunks during this time, but they were used by only the very wealthy, while lower and middle class travelers used more affordable trunks. There were several popular styles of steamer trunks. Some of these vintage trunks were more functional for traveling while others were meant to be beautiful and decorative. They featured a variety of different designs, materials, and shapes.
The flat top steamer trunk was much more practical than other designs because they could be stacked. These types of steamer trunks would have been much more popular for lower or middle class travelers. Flat-Topped : Pretty self-explanatory, these trunks had mostly flat tops and were primarily used for travel, as they were easy to stack and store on trains, ships and carriages. They were made out of a mix of materials: wood, leather, canvas, metal detailing, sometimes covered in waterproof fabric.
Dome-Topped : Similar to the flat tops in that the name implies the shape, these trunks had noticeably domed tops and were therefore less used for travel purposes. They are also referred to as round top, camel, barrel and humpback trunks, and are frequently made of embossed tin. Slatted Trunks : These are beautiful trunks as they were composed of thin, wooden slats, one placed next to the other.
They made for very sturdy construction and were an example of elegant craftsmanship. To use, you stand the trunk up on its end and open it to reveal separated compartments on each side.
Wall Trunks : These trunks, while very similar-looking to other types, were distinctive in their hinge mechanisms and the manner in which they opened and closed. They were designated for small spaces because, unlike the standard trunk, you could push these flush up against the wall and open the top without having to leave several inches of space for the open top lid.
Saratoga : Saratoga trunks are named after Saratoga, NY, a very popular vacation spot for the wealthy in the s.
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