Circa 1840's
Restoration For Our Friend Joel
Completed March 2008
the 1840's give or take about 10 years. He asked that it be restored in some manner as to be
suitable for display as a treasured family heirloom in his living room. Most hide covered trunks were
made small to carry some belongings for one person and are getting rather scarce these days. This
particular one makes about 4 of those. Measuring 36"L X 17.5"H X 18"W, it's size sets it apart from
most others. A very desirable antique trunk.
Given that the hide had lost most of the original hair (but not enough as to be a joy to touch), had
numerous rips, missing chunks, and the entire back missing, Joel approached us about the
possibility of repairing the hide or replacing it totally. While the back section will have to be new and
the chances of an exact match slim, I encouraged the preservation of the existing hide, showed him
a picture or two of past work, and offered quotes both ways. Joel agreed to give the original an
opportunity and we had our direction there. The inside had been apparently painted many years
ago by someone in the family. Our initial thought was to maybe cover the storage section but leave
the inside lid mostly as is to retain the handy work from past family members.
With hide covered trunks such as this, much depends on how it has aged as to what it will restore
to. No two are quite alike and it is often just one of those things you have to get a feel for. Being very
unique, quite valuable, and from Joel's family, I approached conservatively with the thought of
being least invasive as possible but still making it suitable for the living room.
and protruding nails that were attended to and then the bottom lightly sanded, treated with some
wood oil, and an initial finish coat applied. I'll come back to it after everything else is done and its
not being moved around.
Testing a small spot on the side, I worked with the leather a bit to see what it would do. Figured no
one would miss the small amount of hair remaining and I wanted to expose some natural variations
in color when possible. With the small area ready, I applied our treatment to replenish and protect
the leather. Results were encouraging so work continued with the leather repair, preparation, and
cleanup of the brass tacks. Not knowing the exact final look of the hide, the back would have to wait
until last to better match up as well as blending of a little wood visible here and there. Some of the
areas missing were not at points I wanted to try and match up so the front corners which were in
poor shape were used as the material for those areas and I will come in later with something else
there. Some of the metal work was lightly sanded and oiled while others, such as the handles, were
perfectly aged with old paint that had crazed and just cleaned up. Sometimes less is better.
there is some difference to the touch between the old and new leather, hard to tell appearance wise.
Joel that we would first make an attempt at simply cleaning it up and making presentable. The red
appeared to be over a mustard yellow. It was worked with a medium cleaner and fine steel wool to
remove any old dirt and lighten it just a bit to produce a more pleasing color. Actually looks pretty
good and the original character maintained. Our thanks to Joel for the opportunity