Look what i bought for $20

[tdgill]

I guess its a good deal? I LOVE IT
It has a small hole on top, not sure if we're gonna bother fixing it or not. This thing is huge by the way. I wonder how old it is?

 

[EweSheep]

I have a great grandmother's travel chest that looks like that but it is flat topped and painted over (by my mother)

Looking at great grandmother's birthdate, she was born around mid 1800s and she got that chest when she got married. So it looks like around the turn of the century (1880's).

You can do some restorative work to it, sand out the rust and use Rusteoleum spray paint on the metal parts. Be careful with the wood. Sometimes the hole can be repaired if you can find the right size and same type of wood and glue it back together and sand it down and paint.

Whatever you do, do not paint colors, it would decrease the value of the trunk. My mother painted the chest and now it is not much value because you can not paint or sand off the previous paint due to "cardboard" like structure. Yours is wood so just have a clear protective primer on it.

Great find!

 

[tdgill]

thanks for the info! I might just enjoy it just like it is..not sure yet.

 

[Omran]

that's a real good deal

 

[wombat]

That's a great deal. My mom got an old trunk like that and refinished it. It turned out great!

That one looks to be in really good shape. I've been told that those dome-topped ones are really hard to find in good condition.

 

[onecent]

wow, thats old!! its what is called a "camel back, or camel hump" trunk, good find....

 

[shelleyd2008]

That is nice! What are you going to do with it?

 

[anngili]

Actually, unless the wood is really, really dry, what a lot of antique furniture museums use, after years of research (really!!) to preserve the wood is . . . Johnson's Floor Wax (the "plain jane" kind). It protects the wood and stabilizes the moisture content without reducing the value of the furniture.
I'm not sure about the metal but you could check with some local antique dealers to see what they use. That's a heck of a good find you got!! Congratulations!
Ann

 

[English Chick]

Now that is lovely!!! I do hope you go to the trouble to restore it..... and if you do post pics!

 

[tdgill]

gonna enjoy it as is for the time being. I DO love it - even just as it is. Will take my time and research. My BF made me offer the guy $20 instead of the $25 he had tagged on the trunk. I was hoping the fellow stuck to the $25! I felt like i was robbing him at that! I never knew these were leathered covered, you can see remnants.

So, what would you guys use it for? I had a cool idea yesterday, and now i forgot, ohhhh yeah my driftwood odds and ends for now. I saw online someone converted one into a file cabinet with hanging folders in an office space. Mine will be in the living room or family room....its big.