Antique Stagecoach Hide-covered Trunks

Years ago,

right after we 

moved into this home,

I was antiquing one day 

and found this old

 tattered hide-covered trunk.

I've always loved nail head trim

and that's what first caught 

my attention on this piece ---

oh, and the heart-shaped handles too.

(Someone added the handle on the top. It is not original to the piece but it is as I found it.)

Love the heart shape. Made with TLC!

A leather dust flap under the nails is a common design element.

I bought it, brought it home,

and thanks to the internet --

found the history on these 
old stagecoach trunks.

American trunks date back to the 1600's

and hide-covered trunks using deer, horse

or cowhides date back to the 1700's. 

By the late 1700's these hide trunks 

became a little more decorative 

with hand-forged metal locks and handles,

and brass nail head trim used to hold the hide

to the wooden trunk box.

Though many trunks were made by 

harness and leather makers,  some where made
by the father of a child heading off to a school house
or for his daughter leaving home for marriage.
(Initials on the tops of these pieces is common.)

Usually, decorative printed papers 
covered the interiors 

but sometimes newspapers were used as well.

Stained floral wallpaper in the largest trunk.

These trunks and boxes traveled 

cross country by horseback or stagecoach with their owners. 

It amazes me that that any of them exist

and have not been discarded.


(God bless the hoarders out there!
Do I hear an Amen?)
:)

I have four of these handsome boxes in my collection.

The last one I found is much larger than 

the first three. It's a grand daddy

measuring 33" long by 17" wide. 

(Found it at the Junk Bonanza in MN two years

ago and had planned to resell it but .... 
well, you know how THAT goes!)

Love these old tattered trunks 

that make me wish  

I knew their individual history. 

(Can't stop the visions of "Little House on the Prairie" in my mind!)

Wouldn't it be fun to know who made them

and where their travels had taken them

in those early years of our great country's history?

One can only imagine.

:)

Have you run across any of these boxes in your travels?
Maybe now that you know about them, you will spot one!

Thanks as always 
for stopping by today!