The World’s Most Usable Antique

QUESTION: I purchased an old trunk a while ago. It seems as if someone tried to “antique” it back in the 1960s, which makes it look ugly. I’ve seen trunks restored before and wondered if you can tell me something about this trunk and if it can be restored?

ANSWER: Old steamer trunks are one of the most useful of all antiques. They can still be used for storage after given a little TLC. This makes them more valuable because a person who isn’t necessarily an antique collector will buy one to use rather than a plastic bin.

Although trunks, themselves, date back to medieval times, it’s only the ones made in the 19th and early 20th centuries that people buy to reuse for storage. Trunks gained popularity with the coming of the railroads. And while people used them when traveling by stagecoach, they were more likely to use a “carpet” bag, one made of durable carpet material that could be carried by the owner.

People along the coasts of the United States traveled from one point on the coast to another by coastal steamer or, within the interior of the country, by steamboat. Larger trunks could be taken along because these vessels had porters to carry the heavy trunks onboard and off, thus the name “steamer” trunk.

From the later half of the 19th century to the first couple of decades of the 20th, trunks were flat on top. These usually had a smooth metal or canvas covering, and later an embossed metal cover. They also had wooden slats or metal banding to strengthen them, as well as to add a decorative touch. More elaborate trunks, especially those made by Frenchman Louis Vuitton, had rounded tops.

A typical 100 to 130-year-old antique trunk has a stale and musty odor from more than a century of collecting dust, mold, and mildew. Along with the deterioration of the outside canvas, leather and the inside paper lining, the glue, itself, will have decomposed over time. The original tray insert, made from a thin wood fiber or a compressed sawdust type of material, may have a deteriorated paper covering. Dry rot and mold can also be present. The purpose of the restoration process is to stop further deterioration and to remove the collection of dust, mildew, and mold which is causing the musty odor.

A basic restoration consists of first removing all canvas and paper coverings and leather straps and handles. Next the exposed wood must be washed in a special non-toxic solution to kill and remove dust, mold and mildew, then lightly sanded. Any broken hardware must be removed and replaced, as well as all of the leather. It’s important to make all repairs using the same types of tools, nails, tacks, and craftsmanship used when the trunk was first made. The next step is to restore and seal the wood using special non-toxic restorative oils and varnishes in a slow, repetitive manner to bring out the patina that only 100-year-old wood can achieve. The last step is to bring the hardware, fixtures, and any sheathing back to its original color. This includes removing any paint that may have been applied. The hardware, itself, can be painted a flat black if the original finish cannot be restored.

It’s important to use plastic gloves, eye protection, and a construction-grade face mask when removing the dust and old finishes. While there are lots of good non-toxic cleaners on the market today, some toxic ones may have to be used if the finish on the trunk is in bad condition.

Never use an old trunk without properly cleaning it both inside and outside. It’s especially important to scrub the inside and remove and old paper lining that can’t be saved. In fact, unless the paper lining in historically important to the trunk, it should be removed entirely, as should the glue holding it in place. Back in the 19th century, trunk makers used horse glue to attach the paper to the inside and canvas to the outside.. The trunk can then be lined with fabric or vinyl wallpaper.

Many people romanticize about old trunks—where they’ve been and who they belonged to.

Lighting the Way to Safety

QUESTION: I got this old lantern about 25 years ago. Supposedly it was in the railroad terminal in Atlanta when the Yankees came through and wrecked it in 1865 and was taken home by a young boy who put it in the family barn. It stayed there until I got it from a guy who owed me some money. He says it belonged to his great grandfather, the young boy who originally found it. I have no idea of its value or even its age and have been looking at it for 25 years. Is there any way you can tell me about how old this lantern is and even if it is possible that the story he told me is true?

ANSWER: Your lantern would have been used by railroad workers to indicate to railroad engineers whether a switch was open (green) or closed (red). However, Adlake, the manufacturer of your lantern, didn’t start making switching lanterns until the late 19th century, so it seems unlikely that the Civil War tale is true. Your lantern looks like Adlake Model #1204 which the company produced at the turn of the 20th century.

In order to safely operate a train yard, railroad workers had to have a way of communicating with each other and train engineers. During the days of steam locomotives, the noise and distance involved with train operations ruled out speaking or yelling, especially since common radio devices weren't yet available. Any device they used would also have had to be portable, since those working on the line were constantly on the move. While flags and semaphores worked during the day, they weren’t effective at night. In order to communicate after dark, railroad workers depended on kerosene lanterns.

During the Civil War, improvements to the rail transportation system made it practical to ship lanterns from state to state. It was also during the war that makers began using metal stamping machines to draw and press metal, making the lantern manufacturing process more efficient..

The first company to make kerosene lanterns was the R. E. Dietz Company. In 1856, kerosene began to be distilled in quantity from coal, giving Robert Dietz the opportunity to apply for and receive a patent for a kerosene burner.

During the 1860s, Civil War contracts, Dietz’s hard work, the growth of railroads, and westward expansion made his lamp business a huge success.

On October 21, 1874, John Adams, a salesman from New York, and William Westlake, a tinsmith who invented the removable globe lantern, joined their two companies to create the Adams and Westlake Company, commonly known as Adlake, located in Chicago, Illinois. The new company became the most successful railroad lantern company ever. Even though it made standard railroad lanterns as early as 1857, it didn’t begin to manufacture switching lanterns until the 1890s. Adlake Manufacturing moved from Chicago to Elkhart, Indiana, in 1927. It was the last of many companies to manufacture kerosene railroad lanterns and ended up absorbing its competition in the 1960s as lantern sales plummeted . Today, it makes lanterns for display and train show use.

Generally, the oldest version of Adlake lanterns on the antiques market today are those known as "The Adams." The company produced them from the 1890s through around 1913 when its replacement, the "Reliable" model, came on the market. All of Adlakes lanterns were extremely heavy duty and well made. Today, Adlake switching lanterns in excellent condition sell for $100-300 on eBay.

Water, Water Everywhere

QUESTION: I discovered this unique water bottle at a local antiques co-op. While most antique water decanters are solid cut or pressed glass, this one comes apart into two pieces. A metal ring, with a rubber gasket to make the seal tight, screws onto the base. The mark on the bottom edge of the top section reads: Perfection Bottle Co., Wilkes-Barre, PA Pat March 30-97. What can you tell me about this type of water bottle?

ANSWER: You, indeed, have found a unique water bottle. Though a revolutionary idea, this type of water bottle appeared in stores for only a few years.

From the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, water bottles were standard items in many American Victorian households. They appeared on dinner tables either alone or with matching glasses and in bedrooms often with a glass that set upside down over the top of the bottle. They also could be found on the nightstands in hotel rooms and steamship cabins, and on tables in railroad lounge cars.

At first, manufacturers made them of elegant cut glass, but that was too expensive for the average person. Some turned to using pressed glass in a variety of patterns which lowered their cost.

However, cleaning these crystal beauties posed a serious problem with hygiene. The bottle’s narrow neck made it hard to get a brush down into it, making it almost impossible to clean the inside surface of the bottle’s bulbous interior. But that changed in 1896 when William B. Fenn came up with the idea of a separating water bottle—one with pieces that could unscrew for easy cleaning. On March 30 of the following year, he applied for and received a patent for it.

Fenn’s separating water bottle had an ingenious design. He made the neck and base two separate pieces, with the bottom edge of the neck fitting inside the top rim of the base. A rubber gasket formed a waterproof seal between the two parts and a metal ring screwed over the joint to lock the pieces in place.

Even though Fenn used glass for his original design, he stipulated in his patent that any material, including ceramics and porcelain, could be used for the bottle, itself, and any metal could be used for the joining ring as long it wouldn’t corrode.

It took nearly three years for Fenn's" bottle to be available to the public.,Priced at $4.50 each when they first came on the market in 1900, they were well beyond the means of the average person. Realizing he had to do something to increase sales, Fenn redesigned the pattern on the bottle so that it could be pressed instead of cut. Suddenly, the price per bottle dropped to 50 cents per bottle, or 34 cents each for a dozen, making the Fenn water bottle affordable for everyone.

Fenn’s invention was so successful that he decided to expand production. By October,1902, consumers could purchase a decanter and stopper in four sizes—half pint, and one, two and three-pint versions. And during 1903; He expanded the line further to include other glass containers, such as   syrup pitchers and cruets, as well as bitters, cologne, and barber bottles, each with a different pattern.

The separating water bottle came in three models—the Royal, with a delicate design imitating cut crystal, the Imperial, also sold in two and three-pint capacities but without a pattern, the Optic, with a succession of single, convex protruding, vertical panels with rounded tops and bottoms, and the Colonial, featuring nine rounded panels with flat bottoms around the base. Each came in two and three-pint sizes, except the Colonial which also came in a half-gallon size.

In 1903, the Perfection Water Bottle Co. and the Sterling Glass Co. combined to create the Perfection Glass.Co. of Washington, Pennsylvania, with William Fenn as one of the initial investors. But the new company was only to last until 1907 when it closed its doors for lack of sales.