I have had this old, unrestored, 1880s style dome topped trunk that I bought in Pennsylvania in about 1980, but now I want to do something with it. I haven't found anyone good to restore it, so I am going to refurbish it myself, leaving it as original as possible. I am looking for some advice on what to do. It's in pretty bad shape. I have begun to remove and treat the rust on the metal parts. I got rid of most of the musty smell by storing old crumpled newspapers in it for a while.

I know that Legal Bill restored a similar one some years ago, but I only saw it briefly, so I don't remember what he did with his.

Any suggestions?

BEFORE

Front



End.



Back


Open




Lithographs






Whatever I do with it, I'll post some AFTER pics.

 

I would try to get an estimate of the cost of having someone else to it. It might be too labor intensive to do it yourself. or make a friend of someone who works with wood and antiques. You have a great smile and nice demeanor ... the worse they can tell you is no.

 

My sister and I received the trunks that our great grand parents had used when immigrating to the United States.
She has the dome top which was for the lady and mine is a flat top for the gentleman.
This way they could be stacked on top of one another.
Just a bit of trivia.

 

Oh, no! I have a gentleman's trunk!

 

^^^ Thanks!

Yeah, I think the high-end curved top trunks first appeared in the US about Jenny Lind's time. The style even came to be called the Jenny Lind. Then there was the domed Saratoga (=The Spa that the well-to-do took their Jenny Linds to.) I didn't know about the gender thing. The lithographs are clearly feminine for the period. And the camel back holds more stuff!

I have been brushing and cleaning it this afternoon. I thinnk I am going to enjoy doing it. If I could find a good professional restorer I would definitely use them. I would like to have it as close to being original with patina as possible. I ordered some parts for it today; leather handles and such. But I am keeping the original hardware - just steel wooling it. As a final coat I am thinking that tung oil can be brushed on all of the surfaces, inside and out, after proper preparation. Apparently the end sections of the trunk were painted black, but I can't really tell what color the interior sections were.


The best advice i have gotten so far is from a Brettuns Village Trunk Shop in Auburn, Maine.

 

It's a real cool piece Jim. Enjoy the project. Looking forward to the "after" pics.

 

Jim, I would contact the curator at the Henry Ford Museum. Something tells me they could be very helpful.

 

You have all the interior dividers. That is rare. Mine does not have its dividers. I first cleaned the outside of mine with soap and water to try to find the original paint colors. I found black and brick shade of red, much like yours, Jim. I used steel wool and a wire brush and cleaned the metal of all the rust, but not going so far as to lose the stamped detail. I painted it with Rustoleum. I painted the decorative hardware with a gold paint of now unknown origin to look like brass. I still have the original handles. Mine still looks great after about 25 years. Tung oil on the wood is a good idea, but not too many coats

 

That is a really nice trunk. Definitely worth restoring!

 

Jim - did you see this link?? Step by step with pics!

http://laocmo.blogspot.com/2012/03/i...years-ago.html