Antique Enthusiast? I Need Help!

[zerotonothing]

A family friend urgently needed some money to fund a trip to Tennessee, so I bought this. I believe its a steamer trunk, it has patent dates of 1884 on the locking mechanisms. Very ornate metalwork and old, old leather. A nifty little picture on the inside of the lid as well. Do any of you know anything about this style of trunk and its value?

Here are some pics:

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JB Books]

What do you want for it?

 

[roachjuice]

Are you looking to pawn it or sell it?

 

[JB Books]

Give us a picture of the locking mechanism

 

[zerotonothing]

Wow guys! I'm not looking to sell it. Haha! Just looking for info and an estimate of value. The pics with the patent marks is the back of the lockup mechanism, by the way.

 

[zerotonothing]

View attachment IMAG0003-2-1.jpg
View attachment IMAG0008-2-1-1.jpg

Sorry for the crappy cell pics.

 

[zerotonothing]

I'm still none the wiser. Still seeking some info from you helpful folks.

 

[Okie4570]

Cool chest, we have one that came across on the boat from Czechoslovakia with my great great grandparents. It doesn't have as much metal hinge work as yours though. No idea on the value. When I got it from my great grandparents, it had several Czech grammer books and reading books in Czech. I bet yours has an interesting past as well. Sorry for the bad pic.

 

[Cohiba]

I don't have much knowledge on steamer trunk, but go to this site.
WWW.thepirateslair.com

Send him a picture and see what he thinks.
Goodluck!
Cohiba

 

[coolhandluke]

Unless the trunk is a sought after model or manufacture, the value will probably fall in the $100 - $300 range. Most antique steam trunks don't bring much money unless they are in very good original condition or have undergone a full blown correct restoration which will normally cost as much as the trunk is worth post-resto. I have had good luck in the past using Google image search and using key words like steamer trunk, steam trunk, antique trunk etc. Normally you will find photos of similar or identical trunks and can trace them back to websites for sale or appraisal prices.

Here's a couple photos of a dome lid trunk that I refinished for my mother's birthday present. It was her great-grandparents and had been given an ugly paint job by her uncle and sat out in a barn for several years. It honestly doesn't have much monetary value at this point, and I can't imagine that it would bring any more than $100 to an educated buyer.

Before:

After: