A vintage trunk on the road again

When adventure is just around the corner

I scored the vintage trunk for four bucks at the annual rummage sale held by the Jewish Women’s League of Pottstown at the synagogue. It ran on a Sunday and a Monday because, of course, the Sabbath is on Saturday, the usual day for yard sales in my hometown. I believe it was in November 2011, shortly after I had moved back home, and I went with my mom after she had gone to church and had lunch. By the time we wandered the aisles, the big crowds had dispersed.

When I moved into the Victorian twin on Charlotte Street, I had only taken a few pieces of furniture from my home in New Jersey. The trunk immediately seemed like a candidate for a cool coffee table. The living room in my rental was quite small; my couch was actually a loveseat that I had gotten on sale from Lastick Furniture downtown. The trunk would be a very thrifty, throwback addition to the space.

The trunk, by its very nature, evoked a sense of adventure and curiosity for me. Someone in the area–or more likely one of their ancestors–had used it to see some new part of the world. The manufacturer was “Eveleigh Baggage, Canada’s Best Since 1870.” This blog post from 2013 provides the most information I could find about this Montreal-based company, including that it may have won an award at the 1867 Paris Exposition a.k.a. World’s Fair.

While the outside was a bit beat up, and there was no key for its lock, the inside was in excellent condition. It had four drawers, and a retractable bar that held pristine wooden hangers. It smelled a bit like mothballs, but I didn’t plan to store anything in it or have it open. I just needed it to hold magazines, napkins, beverages, and perhaps a candle.

It became another one of those things, like the comforter, that followed me to the Hill School and to Maine. But when I first moved back to New Jersey, not sure whether it would be a permanent relocation, it remained in the formal living room in Maine. It was not especially heavy, but it was awkward to move. It required two people – not something I could put in the back of my car and schlep up a long flight of stairs to get inside my apartment. And by the time I bought the home I’m in now, and where I hope to stay for a good long while, I already had a conventional coffee table that works just fine

.

I listed the trunk on Facebook Marketplace a couple of times and got exactly zero messages of interest.  Once, while passing through Bennington, Vermont, I stopped in an antique shop, where I saw a couple trunks of similar vintage, listed for $50-$100. I asked the owner if he would be interested in mine, and he said, “Sure, if you basically gave it to me. They don’t move very quickly, they don’t sell for very much, and they take up a lot of space in the shop.” Well, I would not be driving several hours to deliver it to Vermont, so that was another dead end. 

With yard sale purchases, there is always the hope–don’t believe anyone who denies it!–that you are buying something of great value, and someday it will be worth so much more–an Antiques Roadshow fantasy. That was not going to happen with my $4 trunk, even though it’s in way better condition than this $70 cousin listed on eBay. Another one, that seems to have sold, was listed by an antiques dealer for $410! I suppose if I had wanted to list it on a site specializing in antiques, I might have been able to make the big bucks. Alas. I have trails to hike, gardens to till, words to write.

There is a wonderful shop in Central New Jersey, HomeFront’s Treasure Trove, that takes donations at a storefront and uses the proceeds  for a variety of programs to help individuals and families break the cycle of poverty. Although Treasure Trove had not been interested in my vintage bike because it had too much rust, I figured I had to give them a try. 

A couple days ago, I stopped by with photos, they were low in inventory, and were delighted to receive the trunk. I got some help getting it into my car–the trunk was “On the Road Again”–and someone from Treasure Trove helped me unload it when I got there. I’m really happy that this temporary treasure of mine will likely find a new home soon. Happy travels to you, dear trunk!