My Obsession Part 2...
This will probably be a little witty tale to some. Boring to others. But as we go down this journey, Im sure you will get a few laughs along the way. I know I can do that now that the worst is over. Or is it?
We begin this journey with a yard sale. Yes, a simple yard sale. Now mind you that I have wanted a trunk for a long time. But my search hasnt been that long. I figured these things to be somewhat expensive and I really didnt have the resources yet. Looking at the ones on line, they were all appearing in the hundreds of dollars range. I didnt have that for something to just put my blankets in.
We were driving down the road one day on the way to somewhere that I now forget. I saw the yard sale. I saw the antiques and then I saw five trunks. Five of them!! So we pulled over and I went out to look. I had my eye on one in particular but I didnt have the money for it with me. He wanted $85 for that one. But there were others there. Mostly well worn and missing parts. I was hoping for one that I could bring home and load my stuff into. I was soon to discover that wasnt going to be the case. Well, unless I wanted to spend $600. Of course, that wasnt happening either.
Well I could kick myself in the ass for not grabbing that trunk when I had the chance. I went back the next day and it was gone. Along with another one. So now there are three to choose from. One was a small tin trunk that was in fairly decent shape. Nothing that a good cleaning couldnt hurt. It also had a key. Another was a dome top trunk that someone obviously painted an ugly black and brown. It was missing the lock and the handles. The third was a very large beast that had seen better days. It was obvious that it sat in water as it was warped on the bottom half and you could see the water marks on the outside. It was missing a couple of the latches and the lock was badly damaged. So I think you can pretty much tell which one I chose. Yep, it was the small one with the key. Less work and all the parts were there but the handles.
So I paid the man $12 and loaded it into the Blazer. Yes, $12. Thats all he wanted for it. The big one was $30 and the ugly one was $45. Could you believe it? So we went onward to the camp to meet up with my sister and her crew for a BBQ that day. We hit a few yard sales along the way and picked up some interesting things for Mousie. Couldnt resist. It was a statue of an umpire picking up a kid by the scruff like he made a bad play. He he he... Mousie is an umpire so it suited the joke quite well.
That night, as I stared at my new project, I was also debating on another trunk. The one I now have is small. Not the doll type ones that were made and sold during the same time period, but it was what they refered to as a ladies trunk. More so a tall type that was used more for a carry on piece. Later these trunks would be more to the size of a large suitcase. So you can very well guess the age of this trunk. An expert at a trunk restoration shop quoted me an approximate date to about 1865 to 1870. Not bad for $12.
But I was still debating on a larger trunk. So I was thinking about going back to that place and picking up the big trunk and restoring it. How hard could it be? So I went back over to his house and asked about it. He told me that what didnt sell that weekend, was sent to a dealer. Bummer. But thats ok. Im sure I can find another one of that size somewhere else. And so the major search began.
This was a long and frustrating process. If you are thinking of doing the same thing, always shop around for ideas before you buy. Know exactly what you want before you get it. And if it could be what you want, dont pass the opportunilty. Grab it with both hands and run like hell.
My first stop was on line. I noticed a really beautiful one for sale near by. I called the man and told him I was interested and that I would be coming that night to pick it up. About 15 minutes before I was to leave, he called me back to tell me that someone else was there to pick up the trunk and that it was sold. I was devastated because this one was a wonderful piece with shelves that moved up with the lid. Something I still want. Ok, on to the next one.
I was searching in an area that covered about a 100 mile radius around my home. Yes I was that serious on this. Places almost half way across the state and some places almost to NYC. I would contact the people, set up a pickup date and then I would recieve a message that it was sold to someone that got there before me. Now Im beginning to think that something was up. So over a two week period of time, there was someone going around buying up trunks. Everywhere. All of them. We are talking to the tune of about 40 trunks here. I dont get it? Who the hell needs that many trunks? And all of the people referred to this person as a man who is a dealer. So that would explain something. But what is the rush on such a demand? I still dont get it.
So now I need to step up the pace a little. I need to be on the ball and grab at what I can. I found a nice brown canvas trunk in a town not far from here. I contacted the owner and told them that I was willing to pay cash and would come asap to pick it up. She told me that she would be out of town for a few days. I explained the situation to her about the dealer going around and grabbing them all. She told me that I was the first to call and that the trunk was definately mine. I set up a pickup date for that Saturday. It was confirmed. I have a trunk. Whoohoo!! Its mine mine mine all mine.
Later that night, I talked to Bill and Kim about going to yard sales for that day. It was a sort of birthday gift to me to be taken around the world so to speak. If you have ever gone to yard sales with me, thats the feeling you will get. I go everywhere. And I map it all out to where I want to go first. And then to where I will end up. So on this day, the last stop would be at 2pm at the house where that brown trunk was.
I sat at the table for a couple of hours mapping all the sales out in various neighborhoods. Working my way to that town would be the last of the sales. I set them up by priority. It was a work of art. I took the money that I was allowing myself to spend and put that in one envelope and the cost of the trunk in another. That way I would have the cash to give her. By 8am, we were pulling into the first stop.
This will probably be a little witty tale to some. Boring to others. But as we go down this journey, Im sure you will get a few laughs along the way. I know I can do that now that the worst is over. Or is it?
We begin this journey with a yard sale. Yes, a simple yard sale. Now mind you that I have wanted a trunk for a long time. But my search hasnt been that long. I figured these things to be somewhat expensive and I really didnt have the resources yet. Looking at the ones on line, they were all appearing in the hundreds of dollars range. I didnt have that for something to just put my blankets in.
We were driving down the road one day on the way to somewhere that I now forget. I saw the yard sale. I saw the antiques and then I saw five trunks. Five of them!! So we pulled over and I went out to look. I had my eye on one in particular but I didnt have the money for it with me. He wanted $85 for that one. But there were others there. Mostly well worn and missing parts. I was hoping for one that I could bring home and load my stuff into. I was soon to discover that wasnt going to be the case. Well, unless I wanted to spend $600. Of course, that wasnt happening either.
Well I could kick myself in the ass for not grabbing that trunk when I had the chance. I went back the next day and it was gone. Along with another one. So now there are three to choose from. One was a small tin trunk that was in fairly decent shape. Nothing that a good cleaning couldnt hurt. It also had a key. Another was a dome top trunk that someone obviously painted an ugly black and brown. It was missing the lock and the handles. The third was a very large beast that had seen better days. It was obvious that it sat in water as it was warped on the bottom half and you could see the water marks on the outside. It was missing a couple of the latches and the lock was badly damaged. So I think you can pretty much tell which one I chose. Yep, it was the small one with the key. Less work and all the parts were there but the handles.
So I paid the man $12 and loaded it into the Blazer. Yes, $12. Thats all he wanted for it. The big one was $30 and the ugly one was $45. Could you believe it? So we went onward to the camp to meet up with my sister and her crew for a BBQ that day. We hit a few yard sales along the way and picked up some interesting things for Mousie. Couldnt resist. It was a statue of an umpire picking up a kid by the scruff like he made a bad play. He he he... Mousie is an umpire so it suited the joke quite well.
That night, as I stared at my new project, I was also debating on another trunk. The one I now have is small. Not the doll type ones that were made and sold during the same time period, but it was what they refered to as a ladies trunk. More so a tall type that was used more for a carry on piece. Later these trunks would be more to the size of a large suitcase. So you can very well guess the age of this trunk. An expert at a trunk restoration shop quoted me an approximate date to about 1865 to 1870. Not bad for $12.
But I was still debating on a larger trunk. So I was thinking about going back to that place and picking up the big trunk and restoring it. How hard could it be? So I went back over to his house and asked about it. He told me that what didnt sell that weekend, was sent to a dealer. Bummer. But thats ok. Im sure I can find another one of that size somewhere else. And so the major search began.
This was a long and frustrating process. If you are thinking of doing the same thing, always shop around for ideas before you buy. Know exactly what you want before you get it. And if it could be what you want, dont pass the opportunilty. Grab it with both hands and run like hell.
My first stop was on line. I noticed a really beautiful one for sale near by. I called the man and told him I was interested and that I would be coming that night to pick it up. About 15 minutes before I was to leave, he called me back to tell me that someone else was there to pick up the trunk and that it was sold. I was devastated because this one was a wonderful piece with shelves that moved up with the lid. Something I still want. Ok, on to the next one.
I was searching in an area that covered about a 100 mile radius around my home. Yes I was that serious on this. Places almost half way across the state and some places almost to NYC. I would contact the people, set up a pickup date and then I would recieve a message that it was sold to someone that got there before me. Now Im beginning to think that something was up. So over a two week period of time, there was someone going around buying up trunks. Everywhere. All of them. We are talking to the tune of about 40 trunks here. I dont get it? Who the hell needs that many trunks? And all of the people referred to this person as a man who is a dealer. So that would explain something. But what is the rush on such a demand? I still dont get it.
So now I need to step up the pace a little. I need to be on the ball and grab at what I can. I found a nice brown canvas trunk in a town not far from here. I contacted the owner and told them that I was willing to pay cash and would come asap to pick it up. She told me that she would be out of town for a few days. I explained the situation to her about the dealer going around and grabbing them all. She told me that I was the first to call and that the trunk was definately mine. I set up a pickup date for that Saturday. It was confirmed. I have a trunk. Whoohoo!! Its mine mine mine all mine.
Later that night, I talked to Bill and Kim about going to yard sales for that day. It was a sort of birthday gift to me to be taken around the world so to speak. If you have ever gone to yard sales with me, thats the feeling you will get. I go everywhere. And I map it all out to where I want to go first. And then to where I will end up. So on this day, the last stop would be at 2pm at the house where that brown trunk was.
I sat at the table for a couple of hours mapping all the sales out in various neighborhoods. Working my way to that town would be the last of the sales. I set them up by priority. It was a work of art. I took the money that I was allowing myself to spend and put that in one envelope and the cost of the trunk in another. That way I would have the cash to give her. By 8am, we were pulling into the first stop.
posted by BC at
11:32 PM
2 Comments:
Looking forward to seeing it when you have restored it!
Its supposed to be a pretty yellow starburst pattern on the metal. Going to be a hard time getting that back. If I can at all. Seems someone put varnish on the whole thing. But I have more installments to this little tale and I am currently restoring a different one right now.
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