Trunk (luggage)

A trunk, also known as a travel trunk, is a large cuboid container for holding clothes and other personal belongings, generally about 30 inches to 36 inches (76 cm to 91 cm) long with varying widths of 16 to 22 inches (41 to 56 cm) and various heights. They were most commonly used for extended periods away from home, such as for boarding school, or long trips abroad. Most trunks are now used as either furniture such as glass-covered coffee-tables or decorative storage for everything from blankets and linens to memorabilia and military paraphernalia. Trunks are differentiated from chests by their more rugged construction due to their intended use as luggage, instead of the latter's pure storage.

Among the many styles of trunks there are Jenny Lind, Saratoga, monitor, steamer or Cabin, barrel-staves, octagon or bevel-top, wardrobe, dome-top, barrel-top, wall trunks, and even full dresser trunks. These differing styles often only lasted for a decade or two as well, and—along with the hardware—can be extremely helpful in dating an unmarked trunk.

Although trunks have been around for thousands of years in China and elsewhere, the most common styles seen and referred to today date from the late 18th century to the early 20th century, when they were supplanted in the market by the cheaper and lighter suitcase.

Trunks were generally constructed with a base trunk box made of pine which was then covered with protective and decorative materials. Some of the earliest trunks are covered with studded hide or leather and look much like the furniture of the same period (which makes sense as trunk manufacturing was sometimes an offshoot of a furniture business.) Later coverings include paper, canvas, plain or embossed tin, with an uncounted assortment of hardware and hardwood slats to keep it all down.

There were hundreds of trunk manufacturers in the United States and a few of the larger and well known companies were Rhino Trunk & Case, C.A. Taylor, Haskell Brothers, Martin Maier, Romadka Bros., Goldsmith & Son, Crouch & Fitzgerald, M. M. Secor, Winship, Hartmann, Belber, Oshkosh, Seward, and Leatheroid. One of the largest American manufacturers of trunks at one point—Seward Trunk Co. of Petersburg, Virginia —still makes them for school and camp, and another company—Shwayder Trunk Company of Denver, Colorado—would eventually become Samsonite. Rhino Trunk & Case, based in Rochester, New York, still manufactures premium quality trunks and wardrobe trunks for camp, college, travel and the military as well as for many retailers around the world. Another is the English luxury goods manufacturer H.J. Cave trading since 1839. Their Osilite trunk was used by such famous customers as T.E. Lawrence and Ruth Vincent Some of the better known French trunk makers were Louis Vuitton, Goyard, Moynat, and Au Départ. Other fine malletiers still in existence include Noble and Graff and La Malle Bernard.

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Wikipedia