Images(6)

TRUNK

Date1770-1790

OriginEngland, London

MediumDeal, leather, brass, and paper

DimensionsOH:10"; OW: 15 1/2"; OD:11 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1967-317

DescriptionTRUNK: Rectangular trunk covered with leather with domed lid hinged at rear; scrolled, brass escutcheon plate on front of trunk; hinged hasp on front of lid; simple, brass bail and rosette handle on top of lid; lid and trunk banded with strips of darker leather and fastened with double rows of brass tacks around top, front, and sides; top held open by woven tape nailed to insides of both case and lid sides; interior lined with paper covered with patterned design in blue, pink and black.

Deal case covered with pony(?) skin; brass nails.Label TextWhile Philip Rabinel has not been identified in city directories as a trunk maker, a man of that name died in London in 1796. Isaac and his sons Issac Jr, and William Eyre are listed as trunkmakers in London from the 1790s through the 1820s. Isaac Eyre joined with Richard Driver from around 1794 to 1800 at 19 Cockspur Lane and then worked on his own until his death in 1808. Isaac Jr. took over the business at that time. His brother William, who took over the business around 1814, was listed at the 19 Cockspur Lane address by 1820 and left those premises in 1824. Given the address on the Eyre label, the trunk must have passed through that family's shop between 1800 and 1824. If Rabinel was the original maker, the trunk could date as early as the 1770s, but further research needs to be done on Rabinel's time in London to refine that date.Mark(s)Two labels attached to inside of lid; the upper, and apparently original label reads: "PHILIP RABINEL, TRUNK-MAKER,/ Opposite Southampton-Street, in the Strand, LONDON,/ MAKES and SELLS all Sorts of strong Trunks, Leather/ Portmanteaus, &c./ Likewise Lets Lodging to GENTLEMEN." The second label reads :"EYRE,/ Military Trunk/ and CANTEEN MAKER,/ No. 19 Cockspur Street,/ Imperials & Trunks fitted/ to Carriages." The wording is in a cartouche beneath the Royal Arms and surrounded by engravings of a leather bucket, knife box, trunks and a leather jack.