I found this old humpback steamer travel trunk in a New Mexico auction - it was for sale and a little the worse for wear - so I bought it and loaded it into my van. It took a few weeks to refurbish and banish the the spiders and dampness - but eventually it looked ok to start the decorating. Lots of acrylic paints, collages and lo! and behold! it turned out like this. I lined it with cedar strips and tiddlied up the hardware. These old trunks are getting rarer and rarer.
The hump had two purposes. One, to make sure that the shippers couldn't pile one on top of the other in a hold or warehouse and damage the bottom one. And, two, the hump was where you packed your lady's fancy go-to-meeting bonnet. Couldn't crush it there. This one;s a keeper.
And by way of another one. This is an old carpenter chest that once belonged to an immigrant German family in Texas in or around 1880. It was in poor condition - but I got it done. And it took almost a year to match the original paint and to collect old carpenter tools from many, many garage sales and auctions. A big bonus was the fact that I had a photograph of the original owner and used it too...along with a tintype of good odl Annie Oakley. This one sold to the owner of a chain of lumber yards.
OK - I paint watercolours --- but once in a while I do make SouthWest pieces and when I find a trunk I like to breathe new life into it.
Unk
Boothill
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