Antique Stagecoach Trunk Circa 1875 Restoration For Our Friend Lisa Completed May 2008

This one came in two pieces but is a metal covered herringbone pattern early dome top which probably took a few rides on top of the stagecoach. It's a slightly smaller trunk made during the transitional period from the button trunks of the 1850's and 1860's to the slatted trunks of the 1870's and later. The bottom portion of the lock is actually not original and was most likely installed in the 1890's. This trunk was already 20 years old by then. When restored, they sort of have an endearing look. The plan is make it sturdy once again, remove any rust, patch the holes, give it a new paint job, and then reline the interior with some material that Lisa sent with the trunk. Should just take a minute or two....... The above pictures were taken after some of the rust and grime had already been knocked off to better show the metal details. The bottom has a few holes and someone stole all the nails so it was a little wobbly.

Since the trunk was already in two pieces each section was addressed individually. Hopefully, things will come together in the end. First item was making the trunk sturdy again. That worked out pretty well so I moved on to giving it a bath and hole patching of the wood. Anytime I see a hole in a trunk I want to seal the interior extremely well. In this case, I used 3 thick coats of our sealer and then later the interior will also be glued and covered once the exterior is completed. With the trunk sturdy and the interior cleaned up, all the exterior rust was removed as shown above.

I was given brown as one of the colors Lisa liked and selected a light brown. It looks very nice with original character in person.

The inside was relined in a material with various scenes depicting people out enjoying life perhaps in the early 1800's. We thank Lisa for supplying the material which goes well with the trunk and for the opportunity..

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