Trunk

Object Name:

Trunk

Object ID:

2010.029.02

Creator:

Sweetser, Benjamin C. & Son

Place of Origin:

Portsmouth, NH

Date:

circa 1826

Description:

Trunk, leather-covered wood. From the Fogg-Rollins House, Exeter, NH. Rectangular wooden frame with curved, hinged lid. Deer hide-covered exterior with cowhide trim bands and brass tacks. Forged iron hinged handles on two ends. Iron box lock and hasp, with key. Lined with 1825 and 1826 Portsmouth and Boston newspapers. "I. R" in brass tacks on top of cover. "B. C. SWEETSER & SON / OPPOSITE THE PORTSMOUTH HOTEL / CONGRESS STREET / MANUFACTURERS / OF SADDLES, BRIDLES, HARNESS / ES, TRUNKS, MILITARY EQUIP- / MENTS, &c." printed on paper label adhered to inside of cover. Large painted signature and other markings on bottom. Owned by John Rollins of Exeter.

Material:

Wood
Tissue
Leather

Dimensions:

H-11.2 W-28.8 D-15.5 inches

Provenance:

Owned by John Rollins of Exeter, NH. One of a group of objects selected from the Fogg-Rollins House in Exeter. Built during the late 18th century, this historic house site, home to six generations of the Fogg and Rollins families, was left in trust by Beatrice A. Rollins (1902-1995) to be established as a museum documenting the Fogg and Rollins families. Working with the NH Attorney General, the Fogg-Rollins trustees determined that there were neither sufficient assets nor public support for establishing a house museum, so sought to divide the property among interested museums and historical agencies in New Hampshire. The House contained the accumulation of six generations of family members, focusing on life in rural mid 19th-century Exeter. These objects selected by NHHS document early to mid 19th-century domestic life and trade as well as late 19th-century recreation and tourism.

Credit Line:

Gift of the Fogg-Rollins Charitable Trust

People:

Rollins, John, Sweetser, Benjamin C. (1778-1834), Sweetser, Washington (1803-1851)