Saturday, December 02, 2006

Difficulties In Dating

I picked up a copy of the Antique Trunks: Identification and Price Guide on the recommendation of several trunk websites to aid me in dating my vintage trunk.

Well, the bad news is that I can't reliably state the manufacturer of my trunk. I found just one trunk with similar decorative leather edging: an 1885 Drucker steamer trunk wrapped in leather and edged with pig skin. My trunk is canvas-wrapped, but has similar decorative leather edging picked out with rows of brass tacks and beautiful scrolls around the dust band. So far, Drucker/Mendel-Drucker is the only manufacturer whose trunks show the same distinctive leather edging and decorative elements as my own.

According to many of the trunk histories, canvas lining both the exterior and interior became very popular in the 1880s, so it is not a stretch of the imagination, I believe, to tentatively date this trunk to approximately 1895. There is no maker's mark or patent information on the lock, which is why I date it older rather than newer. While it is certainly possible that whoever made this simply threw on an older lock left lying around the shop floor, it is probably no younger than 1910, simply based on the changing styles of trunks.

The good news is that this same guide had photos of many of the locks used in the past two centuries, so I was able to date and, more importantly, identify the lock. It is an Eagle trunk lock manufactured between 1890 and 1910.

According to the price guide, if my trunk weren't in the condition it is in, it would be worth perhaps $200 - $300. Refinishing the trunk could destroy any remaining intrinsic value or bestow more value than usual if done well. Naturally, as with all antiques, the actual value is approximately what someone will pay for it and may be higher or lower than your estimated value.

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