Trunk

Object Name:

Trunk

Object ID:

1956.388

Date:

circa 1830

Description:

Trunk, leather, wood, and brass. Two-piece wooden box with thin leather covering attached to outside surfaces. Front piece of bottom attached at top edge with small iron tacks. Leather stretched over bottom edge and held in place in bottom with iron tacks. Some iron tacks on top edge of right side, bottom section. Similar holes from missing decoration on left side and iron tacks holding leather in place. Dark-colored leather band ~0.65" wide at either end of front, top, and back surfaces, applied with brass upholstery tacks where band runs up front, across top, and down back. Band of smooth, dark leather ~1.3" wide on front of lid which hangs over bottom of lid ~0.8". Second, lighter-brown, narrow band across top of this leather band with 11, small, semi-circular decorations with serrated edges and single brass upholstery tack in center of each semi-circle. Central circle without tack due to brass lock hasp piece behind it which hangs down below edge of leather apron. Single looped leather handle on top, diameter of 0.3". Its ends: 3.8" apart. Ends perforate leather covering on lid and are included in two opposed, heart-shaped formations of brass upholstery tacks. Pointed ends of hearts point towards opposite sides of box. Oval of brass upholstery tacks around handle and heart tacks. Oval: spacing 1.2" between tacks. Hearts shaped by tacks adjoining each other. Brass lock plate, 1.6" wide, 1.1" high on front of box. Small, symmetrical, decorative curves on each side. Plate held by three iron tacks. A fourth tack in one corner missing. Rectangular slot top center of plate. Keyhole bottom center of plate. Steel key in box which activates lock. To right of lock flathead, steel wood screw not entirely driven into front surface. Small brass hook added to lid with flathead, steel wood screw. Hook engages screw on base to keep lid shut. Three holes below lock plate near base with some evidence of missing decoration. Three similar holes near top edge of front of lid in center, also with evidence of some missing element. Four, worn, brass upholstery tacks in bottom of box on outside, one in each corner. Large fragment of polka dot paper on bottom. Light discolored background. Probably blue polka dots in diamond-shaped pattern. Vertical and horizontal spacing of dots ~0.5" on center. Dot diameter ~0.12". Paper seems to coincide with rippled edge of stretched leather on bottom. Slight evidence that paper may have slightly covered edge of leather on bottom. Inside of box covered with light-colored paper with small pattern on it. Pattern shape appears to be tildes, with pattern spacing ~0.5" vertically and horizontally. Two small leather hinges appear to be under paper on back edge as well under leather surface on back of box. Small bumps of back of box where leather covers these hinged parts. Outside leather surface on top and back all one piece, extending from front surface of top of box, across top, down back, and partly onto bottom surface. Piece of decorative heavy cloth tape nailed to top edge of bottom section with three brass upholstery nails in inside of box between hidden hinges at back and similar nails at other end of it where it is nailed to inside edge of top. This keeps top from opening too far. Inside edge at top on left side both chamfered with decorative paper over wood base. These pieces for tighter seal around top of box and to keep top from sliding out of position.

Material:

Wood
Leather
Brass
Iron
Paper

Dimensions:

H-4.3 W-9.1 D-6.2 inches Weight-25.75 oz

Credit Line:

Gift of Adin M. Noyes