Trunk

Object Name:

Trunk

Object ID:

1995.524.05

Description:

Trunk. Leather, wood, brass and iron. Leather-covered wooden box. Domed lid. One piece of leather extending from front of lid, across curved top, down back surface, extending small distance onto bottom surface. Remnants of fur on leather surface in center of lid on back. Also, some evidence of some fur associated with some decorative leather bands on top. Small diameter straight shaft, iron handle on top, ~3.3" long. Shaft makes almost 90 degree bend at each end. Extends ~1", then short section parallel to main shaft. Two iron staples acting as pivot points for handle, 0.2" wide. Handle ~0.2" diameter at its largest section. Roughly half-inch wide dark leather decorative straps fastened with brass upholstery tacks on lid. Tack spacing not precise, but ~1.1" between centers. Two straps at left side with one being on top edge going from front, lower left corner, up front, across top, and all the way down back. Parallel strap with ~1.4" space between them, also goes up front, across top, and just turns back edge before stopping. Diagonal leather strap that extends towards second strap, but continues down back surface to bottom edge on far left top edge ~2" from back edge. At that point, its outside edge 3.6" from edge of box. Mirror image of two parallel bands and third diagonal band on right side of box. Decorative bands held in place by iron tacks on back surface. Horizontal decorative strap that delineates top front edge of box, going from left to right edges and underneath four straps running from front to back. Also, uses brass upholstery tacks for decoration. Two parallel leather bands similar to rest of them on box on bottom edge of lid and top edge of base section. These two bands extend slightly around to back edge, then stretch along sides, across front, down other side to just around edge on back. Single band delineating bottom edge on front of box. Two decorative bands descend to near center of bottom decorative band starting on front at upper corners. These angled bands pass under front plate at its bottom corners and also pass under vertical bands parallel to extensions of long bands from top surface that extend down front surface. Brass upholstery tacks roughly mirror their adjacent decorative pieces in their attempt to be symmetrical. Pair of brass upholstery tacks intentionally spaced very close together for decorative purpose on front of base section at left and right edges. Short, curved piece of leather leading from double upholstery tacks down left side to bottom edge on left side of base section. Held in place with iron tacks on side. No known reason for this short strip, as not mirrored on other end of box. Vertically-oriented, double set of upholstery tacks on right end of box on decorative band. Upholstery tacks left side of back evenly spaced, opposed to those on right side of box, not evenly spaced. On right end of top of lid, some iron tacks holding leather edge near front of box which may be old repair. Some iron tacks holding a piece of leather on right end of box at bottom, back corner, may be part of repair. Iron lock plate, 3.3" wide x 2.7" high on front of box, lower section. Edges from front of plate chamfered from whole of lock plate. Held in place by five iron tacks. Keyhole at center of plate at bottom plate with iron stud at top of hole. Keyhole tapers outward slightly with curved bottom. Two small tabs extending from side of hole with left one being below right one on opposite sides of hole. Pivot holding decorative rectangular strap that swings over keyhole near top center of plate. Some rough, decorative hammered decorations on front of strap. Vertically-oriented, rectangular slot upper left corner of lock plate. Hasp pivots down from lid. Its top end under leather, held by three iron tacks. Pin for hasp on decorative band. Two upholstery tacks near left and right edges of hasp, holding narrow, leather strip which hides portion of that hasp above pin. Slightly-tapering right sides, curving into narrower neck, then expand out to bulbous bottom on bottom section of hasp. At finger tab at bottom of hasp, strip turned over onto itself to form horizontal roll. Slightly chamfered edges to exposed edges of hasp. Key missing. Two parallel strips of wood at front and back edges bottom of box, nailed in place with iron tacks. Strips ~0.25" thick, 1.3" wide. Strips act as feet and also cover surfaces of leather wrapped onto bottom. Wrapped around leather exposed, showing iron tacks holding it in place at left and right edges. Wooden bottom of box untreated, with number of dents and small scrapes. Strips of wood to create a lip on inside of box. Straight strip nailed to inside of front board. Strips with curved top edges on sides, nailed to inside of box. Lips all angled inward. Remnants of cloth tapes in lid and in bottom at sides, tacked in place. Remnants of decorative paper applied to that surface on right side of bottom section. Some small straps of paper on top edge, on back board of bottom section. Some very small pieces of loose paper in box. Slightly rough-sawn inside surfaces of end boards of top and bottom. Much smoother inside surfaces of front and back boards. Bent-over ends of staples on lid that hold handle in place. Section of slightly-scorched and slightly charred wood on inside of lid near center, ~6" wide, 5" high. Two small iron hinges near back corners of box and lid, applied to outside surface of wood, but mostly hidden under leather at outside. Two jagged holes on top of hinge pivot section at each edge on outside of box. Rectangular hole with portion of back lock plate exposed on inside of box bottom at front. A portion of hole empty, showing somewhat crude nature of how it was cut and left. Vertical corners of wooden box structure slightly rounded for application of leather. Horizontal row of iron tacks, fairly evenly-spaced near top edge of base section on back.

Material:

Wood
Leather
Metal
Brass
Iron
Fur
Paper

Dimensions:

H-6.9 W-14.1 D-8.8 inches Weight-67.35 oz

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Collection