A Restoration Affair

A corner of our sitting room , with the latest addition- A restored antique steamer-trunk.

When we first saw this trunk, we didn’t want to touch it with a 10-foot pole. You’ll see what I mean when you scroll down. But I’ve been fascinated by my mothers old bridal trunk (which still awaits restoration), that I wanted to give this one a try for a pure "skills-test" purpose, before I ventured to take on larger projects.
After all-there’s still the option of putting it back on the kerb-side- in case things didn’t go as expected. :-P

After our usual modus operandi for tracking roots- which I must say has become a standardized process for us now (no ISO: 9001 yet, I confess), the process was something like this:
1. Trace by Baggage labels /Railroad labels,
2. Trace by Lock Manufacturer,
3. Trace by Trunk Manufacturer,
4. Merge all Traces, and you can pretty much narrow down a period with reasonbly good accuracy.

We will merge history and cleaning lessions as we go down the path of restoration.

Below: As-is condition. Pretty gruesome (and smell of old leather- not the good one, the bad one I mean).
Cleaning 101. Use of harsh chemical will damage the leather (that the old owner definitely cared for! as we can see). Anyway, under "new ownership", we must try and do as best as we can, shouldnt we? So back to basics- lightly moistened papertowels, and good old fashioned rubbing the grime off...for a few hours.
OK- onto History..
Trace by Baggage labels /Railroad labels- This is an interesting part- where have thou been? I know some trunks have fabled journey’s proof including travel labels from Shipping companies such as Cunard/White Star Lines (yep-The Titanic’s famed owner). Anyway, many of our trunk's labels are fully dilapidated, and in other places there are only marks that remain where labels have been. However, a few labels (newer ones) remain somewhat intact indicating last journeys around 1918-1928 - with the American Express Railroad Company (AREC) labels. AREC changed its name after 1929- so this trunk was on board, raibound, a few times before that year. (Labels show New York, Idaho, and Oakland, CA)

The details, I learnt, are very important in determining the age of trunks.
So now you know.
Above: One of the AREC labels, in still fairly readable form (i.e. The "printed" details. The handwritten details are long gone!)
Above: Another label. Possibly the last stop, since it's in California! Ship COLLECT! Uh Oh. Which in shipping terms means that the Receiver bears ALL freight charges, and will pay upon receiving/collecting the item. (So I dont think very valuable freight like perfume, and linens and spices would have arrived, atleast on that last consignment :-) )
Above: I really cant read this label, and I'm kinda cross-eyed by the time I got here. It does look intriguing though, and if anyone has any guesses, feel free to comment! (The letters AR are visible, and I think the next letter is G. Below are the smaller font words "Count on/off..whatever") Doesnt make much sense to me. Also is the small print "New York" on the below right corner.

OK, now... Trace by Lock Manufacturer-
Before 1830's steamer trunks were mostly handmade, but after around 1836 the trunk locks started to be machine made. Eventually steamer trunk manufacturing boomed in the US during 1860-1900. By then, many makers of trunks outsourced the lock part to expert lock manufacturers like Yale, Excelsior and Hartmann to name a few.

Yale lock Company was established in 1868 in Stamford, CT, by Linus Yale Sr., and Henry Towne. Yale Sr (inventor of the tumbler lock) died a few months after the company was formed, never knowing how world famous his locks would eventually be. And partner Henry Towne was probably gentleman enough not to drop his deceased partner's name, and the company was renamed Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. in 1883. The reason I'm going to such depths is because ours bears the stamp of "Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co.". So we now know that the trunk was manufactured after 1883- possibly very close to that period, and the last 'recorded' travels were around 1918-1929 (from the Railroad labels above as we saw).

Unfortunately our trunk came with no key. I discovered a site called Antiquekeys, which will get you pretty much any key you may be looking for in your restoration. After photo-magnification (thanks to all the digital camera improvements in recent years), I could read through the rust, and see that our lock# was Yale-Y54.

**
Now back to "Cleaning", to give a break from our History lessons.
The fine art of rubbing with oil: This one was simply based on a whim. We initially tried cleaning it with the leather cleaner that I use for my car's inside. Not only was it a waste of cleaner- but it was more like a drop in the ocean on the century-plus old parched leather. A lightbulb moment brought us to try out with oil. (we used olive oil, but I'm sure you could do with others as well)- half a bowl should do the trick. At "First rub", the leather "drank" the oil, and we could see it dry up within a minute. Poor guy mustve been thirsty since the 1880's.


But the patience paid off. Subsequent rubs retained the oil, now that the leather was beginning to soak in it.
Above: Aha...now we're getting somewhere. See the colour change, and the deep black beginning to show! I must say that I didnt have much hope on this after the initial rounds, that it would ever get back in this shape.

Below: The latch locks, tee up and fit perfectly, like it's just rolled off the assembly line. Pretty amazing build quality.

Trace by Trunk Manufacturer- Trace the maker of the Trunk, or the retailer, or both, and find out the company history and period of existence.
The Manufacturer in our case: Standswell Trunks. Fortunately, most part of the label remains. I could find almost no record on Standswell trunks as an independant manufaturer, though I did find links to Perkiomen Trunk & Bag Co. in Philadephia, PA. Later labels show the Standswell Diamond logo merged with the Perkiomen Logo. (It's reasonable to assume that Perkiomen might have aquired Standwell Trunks). You can find some pretty good history of Old Trunk labels on OldTrunks.com
After extensive searches, I still couldnt find even a single trunk with ONLY the "Standswell" emblem- like ours. (I found 1-2 with Standswell-Perkiomen merged emblem though). So in its own charming way, this piece we have could be a rare part of the Great American Trunk history after all! :-)


Final Touches: Cedar blocks on the inside to absorb any odor, and keep it clean for the years to come. We must say that were were absolutely thrilled at the end state, and also amazed at how sturdily they built trunks in the olden times. In spite of all the abuse it has gone through, the structure is rock-solid, and who knows-perhaps built to take a few more centuries on!
Below: And so it has come to rest - for now. A conversation peice in our quiet chat corner. Thanks for stopping by, and look forward to your comments!

Whale Lamp converted to Bouillotte Lamp?

Joe would like to go on and on how good-lighting enhances the beauty of life around you. He is the designated lighting-shopper here. So when he spotted this one on a sale last year and wanted to bag it right away, I wasn't too sure at first! It was the estate of a late-physician who had a great eye for all things beautiful ; and when Joe announced his pick, I was indecisive, still being mesmerized by all the lovely blue-n-white and Tiffany's silverware there (totally out of our budget). I really couldn't see past the ancient amber colored electric-wiring and all the dust that had collected on the lamp's shade.

But then, I trusted Joe's judgment and brought this fellow home. After about an hour of clean up ( guess what we used.. best cleanser ever : junior's wet baby-wipes ) we plugged him in and I have to say " I fell in love, again!"
At first look it looked like an old bouillotte (pronounced boo-yaht) lamp, but it was a really really old Whale-Oil Lamp ( est. to be from 1800-1840 when they were used), later electrified and converted to look like a bouillotte lamp.

When you pick up an item this old, you inevitably wonder how many events and people this lamp must have witnessed/seen in its possibly 170-200 year old history- from the ages when it was lit up with Whale Oil with its clear and bright natural glow, to its later history with the invention of electricity, all the way to the late-Physician's desk, and finally to us, and as we truly hope- to be passed down in future.
It has a small bell like shape (which we later figured- may have been to snuff the flames), mini tweezers to pick the wick, and a metal hook all adding to the miniature ornamentation around the neck of the lamp- serving no purpose now since the lamp has been electrified. There is intricate carving on the brass foot and stem of the lamp, and we simply switch off other lights before going to bed, and watch it's glow!

Some history:
Whale lamps were popular in the early 19th century. The lamps used whale oil as the fuel hence the name Whale lamp. More on Whale Lamps here.
Bouillotte (pronounced boo-yaht) lamps originated in France, to provide indirect and sophisticated lighting to the game of Bouillotte, a poker-like game, perhaps to hide the "poker-faces" and cards of the players! More on Bouillotte Lamps here.

Can you help me identify these ?

Here are the pictures of some bric-a-brac we found at a sale. They just looked pretty and cost just a few dollars each.. and being collectors that we are , we brought them home hoping to figure out eventually what they would have been doing out there.

Item#A: This one is made of brass (pic above). It is a hollow cylinder with a wooden handle to it. This side, displayed in the picture has a copper patina. The other side of the cylindrical shaft is clear brass-not seen in this picture. The base of the shaft has an outward lip. I figured it would be a candle-mold :-) but couldn't find any similar items on the internet. Joe says it could be some sort of nautical piece, judging by the build. So between a candle-mold and the Titanic's periscope, it could be anything under the Sun! What are your thoughts?

Item#B:This pair of forks/picks came with a set of coasters. There were 8 small coasters with a green marble base, a cork top and a green felt lining in the bottom.Then there were 2 slightly bigger coasters, again with a green-marble base and cork top but no felt lining in the bottom. The set had the 2 chrome forks (shown above) with green marble handles. I am wondering what the forks were doing with the coasters? Are they appetizer-picks ? (That's a more plausible explanation than Titanic's periscope above, but still- why would a set of forks be matched with a set of coasters?)

Item#C: This last one (pic above) is made of wood. It has a flip-top for one half. And a handle on one side. There is a slanted groove inside on both sides ; You can see it in the picture on the left. Rough dimensions are 6" long X 4" wide X 2" tall (at the tallest point). Any idea what this is ?

Mayell Pie/Cake Server

An older find which we dug up sometime last year, is the above Silver plated Pie or Cake Server. It's not easy to find one that just fits so well into the palm of your hand while you are navigating the delicate layers of a cake or torte. We have a couple of other newer cake servers that available now like Wilton and Godinger, but none does the job as well as this timeless beauty!


The maker is MAYELL, a lesser known British Company, and we could find just very few pieces on the web from this maker, and almost no reference on the history of the company. However, the inscriptions on the back clearly depict silver coating on Zinc. (EP on Zinc). Has a few minor scratches, but we've polished it to a shine using Weiman Silver polish.

LaMode Illustree Fashion Plates with Applique

This was one of the great finds during last weekend. The detailed dress-work on the maidens was done on an actual page from La Mode Illustree (one of the most famous French fashion magazines from the 1880's). The dress-work is actually newer-1930's-or early 40's as judged by the. Both are set in silk/satin shadow boxes of exceptional quality, but have wear and tear over the years.

Weekend Treasures - Furniture

Above, Vistaprint Glass mats sitting on a low coffee table that in our minds can be used for seating as well. The style seems unmistakeably art-deco. Though we are really not art-deco fans, some pieces come by that are hard to resist. The wood is solid (has 2 tones of wood- one of which looks like Teak and the other like Mahogany). The top is green leather pasted on the wood top, with gilded-stamped lines decorating in a diagonal pattern.
There is no maker's stamp on the peice of furniture, so there is a good chance that it could have been custom-made. The joints are in outstanding shape for a piece that looks like it has travelled atleast 50-60 years. The art deco movement was in the 1920's, but this could have been a peice that was modelled later based on that style.
This photo actually doesn't do much justice to this piece so we'll try and post a better snap later.

A classic American kid size rocking chair. Distressed white finish. Good size for even grown-ups to squeeze on. The back and seat are caned. This one was in fairly good condition, though the right side of the structure needs some minor restoration work. Below: Junior has already claimed rights to it!

Weekend Treasures !

Last weekend, we went treasure-hunting. With the onset of spring, folks have started venturing out again. Couldn't think of anything better to do, than fishing out some bric-a-brac and spending some "quality time" restoring them to their days of gone-by elegance.

A word of caution: What you are seeing here as gleaming white china, silverware and furniture did not look so when we got it. Many were coated with layers of dirt, and dust, or oxidation, and required several backbreaking hours of labor to get them in this condition, since most of these were already in very fragile condition and required several rounds of hand washing.
Even more grueling was the countless digging-hours spent with our toddler who had absolutely no pleasure in antique hunting. (and who was all the more upset when we did not buy him the $100 vintage toy car that he spotted!)
Disclaimer: So attempt salvaging pleasures at your own risk. :) It's rewarding, and greatly frustrating at the same. If giving up your entire weekend (including grocery shopping) doesn't sound like that great an idea to you, then please do not attempt this. Happy Blogging- Joe & Aswathy.


We were unable to determine the era of this fine dutch ashtray. It has a stamp "HOLLAND". Estimate 1940-50's sterling silver plated. The picture depicts seven men who look like soldiers (since they are wearing swords) at a tavern. A dog is in the foreground.


Set of six coasters. Paper on Cork. Looks like more recent (60's-70's?). All are line drawings of various historic buildings in Boston. The pieces came wrapped in a case marked Vistaprint, Made in Britain. The artist, whose signature is below each drawing bears the name of "Guy Magnus". Looks like a lesser known artist, and the only trace we could find is of an Auction record on Artfact.com, which sold 8 Guy Magnus, pen and ink drawings of town scenes. We are guessing that these could have been the originals of the images shown on these coasters- since these are also drawings of town scenes in Boston, but only 6 of them.
After a whole afternoon of searching for the history of this basket- ranging from Corporate Logo Evolution of Sears, and countless bassinets and baskets, we estimate this to be a 1920's-30's era doll accessory. Little girls played with the popular "Honeysuckle" Brand of buggies- of which the above basket was a part of. It has the label "Sears, Roebuck & Co"- now known as SEARS. It also says "Honeysuckle" Brand on the inside. The basket is amazingly sturdy, and in great condition for a piece clocking 80-90 years! Please give a hearty welcome to our new laundry basket.

The above is a Lithograph of a series known as Herring's fox hunting scenes. "Breaking Cover" is the title of this litho. The original is a mid 1800's painting-Painted by J. F. Herring Sr. ( 1795 - 1865), and several engraved reproductions were made in later years. (This one could be 1950's or 60's based on the condition). It came in a solid wood gilded frame, with glass, in good condition and with no foxing (age related brown spots that we see on old paper and documents) on the litho.


We are using the above creamer-like cup for storing salt within easy access, with a tiny little spoon to go with it. There is no make or mark on this one, but we picked it up because we really liked it. Sometime you just have to go with your heart.

A single plate from one of Joe's favorite China manufacturers- Mottahedeh. The white is actually pale gray in daylight. Early Chinese porcelains had a definite gray-blue cast, which is called gray body. Mottahedeh makes many Chinese reproductions and gray body is often used. (Actually this one was manufactured for Mottahedeh by an Portugese company called Vista Alegre).
This one's a rare gem! Need to do some more research on what period this piece belongs to, so at this point we really dont know. (More on Mottahedeh at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildred_Mottahedeh)

2 Vintage Noritake Mini-cups with "Ear of Corn/wheat" pattern. (By the way, Ear of Wheat/Corn has been a symbol of prosperity in many cultures and ceremonies). Still around as a fine china leader, Nortitake (of Japan) has been making Fine Bone China since 1904 (We got hooked onto Noritake even since we got our first full china set 2 years ago). The pair above is from around 1954.

We got 4 pieces of very delicate vintage white porcelain. These have a large(wide) mouth that makes it very easy to sip tea or coffee, and have a border of green leaves and very dainty white flowers with an aged platinum trim. The bottom is stamped with a black crown - the insignia of St. Regis Fine China , a Japanese porcelain manufacturer of yore. The cup is aprox 5 inches including handle x approx 2 inches.


Antique Brass Tray- Solid Brass, oval tray that has brass railings on the side (looks like bamboo-railings). Havent seen one like this before. It's heavy, but can serve 10-12 large cups easily (8 with saucers!). We've been looking for a tray that can hold a lot of stuff because often we find smaller cute ones, but they are not practical even when we are serving for 4 people.

The saucer that's sitting in the tray was a single odd piece that we got. The image is that of a Victorian era couple in a garden. The manufacturer is Harker Pottery Co. that has been around since the 1840's till as recent as 1970 when they closed down. The logo behind seems to be from somewhere around 1940-1950, and says 22Kt. Gold. (Dont worry, its not worth as much as solid gold. Many ceramic manufacturers use a very thin etching of gold to coat the prints on their fine ceramic ware).