Treasured Chests - Antique Trunk Restoration, Yours or Ours

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wardrobe Trunks

Please note that most of the trunks below are EXAMPLES, NOT FOR SALE. There is one exception but it is well marked.

Traveling Wardrobe Trunk
Known as Wardrobe Trunks or Traveling Wardrobes, these trunks are some of the largest and heaviest ever made and are designed to stand on end for packing or open use. One half of the trunk, usually the right half, is filled with drawers while the other half has clothes hangers, usually a shoe box, and sometimes an ironing board and even a flat iron. Pity the people who had to move these monsters around, most are heavy even when empty! The wardrobe trunks have become more and more popular just in the last few years. Many are restored and then used in bedrooms of small apartments as a  combination chest of drawers and closet. Most of them were made in the 1920s and 1930s with some going back nearer the turn of the century. Note how the upper part of the left half opens up to allow better access to the hangers. The two chrome rods in the same area telescope out to give the hangers more room when the trunk is open.

Cedarobe Made By Whittle Trunk & Bag Company, Knoxville, TN

Cedarobe Wardrobe Trunk By Whittle
Many thanks to J. Y. in Crossville, TN

The wood interior of this special edition wardrobe trunk is made entirely of cedar. No problems with moths here. The cedar drawer fronts provided a refreshing change from the cloth used on nearly all other drawer fronts. You can see the Cedarobe label here.

Another Nice Example of a Cedarobe Wardrobe Trunk

Antique Whittle Cedarobe Wardrobe Trunk, Open Antique Whittle Cedarobe Wardrobe Trunk, Wardrobe Side Antique Whittle Cedarobe Wardrobe Trunk, Open
Slightly different from the example above but just as lovely. Note the beautiful tapestry covering of the wardrobe side dust shield, the elegant drawer fronts and the Whittle logo.

Wheary Wardrolette

Wheary Wardrolette Trunk    Inside View of Wheary Wardrolette Trunk
Most trunks of this type were made by the Wheary Company. It's a marriage of a small and simple wardrobe trunk with the modern footlocker or suitcase. They contained hangers but none of the other wardrobe items like drawers or ironing boards. This example belonged to a "big band" musician who traveled all over Europe for many years. The outside is literally covered with decals and stickers from all over Europe. We delighted in restoring this one for the musician's son.

Louis Vuitton Wardrobe Trunk

Antique trunk, Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton antique trunk

An LV trunk in excellent condition

Same trunk open, note shelves instead of drawers

Antique trunk LV logo

Louis Vuitton Flat Top Trunk

Outside fabric pattern, note LVs repeated

An LV flat top being used as a table

The most famous and valuable (by far, usually) wardrobe and flat top trunks were made by the Louis Vuitton Company (lovingly referred to by many as "LV"). These trunks were always top of the line with lots of solid brass trim and canvas with designs and lots of LVs in or on it. Most had a serial number and a large manufacturer's sticker inside the lid. In the first example above, LV is stamped into nearly every piece of trim, even small rivets!  Older LV trunks sell for thousands of dollars. The Louis Vuitton Company by the way is still going strong. 

How to Use Those Boat Anchor Coat Hangers

We've had email asking how to use the strange boat anchor-looking hangers in wardrobe trunks. At first they appear to be upside down when compared to modern coat hangers. The secret is to first remove the hanger, place the garment on it and then replace both in the trunk. If your trunk has a wardrobe section with a top that opens then you may want to open it first, giving you even easier access to the hangers. The reason for the strange shape of the hangers is to press and hold longer garments in place in transit. After the trunk is packed then a presser bar is usually inserted in front of the hangers and garments, pushed back to compress the garments, and latched in place. This holds the garments flat and tightly in place so they won't be "mussed" as many early ads said. At least one wardrobe trunk maker called these hangers "princess" hangers and were advertised for both men and women's garments.

The wardrobe trunk used in this demo is (Sold) FOR SALE! (Sold) as-is. This trunk will appear in the Broadway Production "Country Girl" starring Morgan Freeman.

Note: We have found another nice wardrobe trunk to replace this one. Photos are below the demo.

1. Open wardrobe section of trunk. Wardrobe Trunk Used in 'Country Girl', starring Morgan Freeman
2. Slide out support rods that hold hangers. Pull out Support Rods
3. Remove long vertical hanger. Remove Hanger
4. Insert bottom of hanger into garment. Insert Hanger Bottom into Garment
5. Slide hanger completely down into garment. Fully Insert Hanger
6. Push top sides of garment toward center,
 between notches of hanger.
Gather Garment Top Between Hanger Notches
7. Replace hanger onto support rod. Replace Hanger
8. Push support rods back into place. Replace Support Rods
9. Close wardrobe section. Close Wardrobe

Our latest wardrobe trunk find. Note the presser bar with the heart-shaped cutout that was the logo of the Bingham Trunk Company in Buffalo, NY, at least as far back as 1912. This trunk has two antique working locks with keys, original shoebox, hangers, presser bar and locking bar for the drawers. The locking bar has a patent date of 7-17-23. This trunk is for sale, the price, as-is, $499. If you're interested then please email us at: TreasuredChests@oldtrunks.com or call us toll-free on 1-877-653-8786.

 

                                                                     

 

 

 

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