Featured Unusual antique strong box Trunk Corbin Cabinet Lock Co

Hiya all,
I have been trying to find some info about this piece apprx 18" x 12" x 8". Heavy duty with a lot of iron fixtures. Google lens finds trunks with Corbin locks but nothing like this. Any help must appreciated.

 

interesting box !!!!!!
looks older..... but with very little wear on the inside..... so not so much for coins, I'll wager !!

 

the lock looks more recent....but well placed !

 

similar closure ... but number 5,,,



antique-leatheroid-covered-flat-top-trunk

 

Nothing really too unusual about finding an item over 100 years old with no wear. I once found a pair of cranberry cut to clear goblet that had no wear at all, every one passed on them because they thought they were new. They were a match pair of Dorflinger that sold for over $800.

 

of course you're right.....

but.... here my eye sees inconsistencies that I can't reconcile.

I think the interior , at some point , was redone, and the exterior, overpainted black.

 

@Ghopper1924
@808 raver
@Roaring20s

 

I’d say it’s a U.S. valuables box ca.1880. The interior paper is consistent with Arts & Crafts, and could very well be original, despite its deceptively excellent condition. This doesn’t rule out the possibility of a later re-paper, but it seems unlikely.

 

Ballot box?

 

That's my take...Lodge Hall or similar, long on ritual security, bicbw.

 

Ghopper was probably dead on. The lock company went into business under that name in 1882. A form of it is still around.

 

A couple of examples online pointing towards masonic. Same shaped slots on them for tokens whereas ordinary ballot boxes had longer more narrow slots for paper votes. I think.

 

& metal tokens dropped into this slots..... would certainly leave a mark on that nice beige paper interior ! No?

 

but if tokens were indeed used........... I lose that wager !!

 

The lining could have been replaced at some point. Maybe it got tired and was overhauled. It possibly started life as a campaign case and was then upcycled into a ballot box. The work around the slots looks a bit different. It might not have seen much use in it's latest form. Maybe the owner was expelled with his box or someone made a better one. So many variables. It just looks like the slots were made to take coins or tokens.

 

what does everyone ... ( to be fair..) think about those dirty leather slot closures , besides them tearing the beige paper where they're nailed in..?

 

I don't like the look of the whole thing tbh. But it was made for utility rather than ornamental purposes. I don't think anyone would keep it on their mantle piece. It's beauty is in its history and the journey it's been on.

 

And could these be marks from tokens?

 

The paper could be Art Deco, so possibly a replacement.
Ballot box looks likely to me, with paper ballots.

I wouldn't mind giving it a home.

 

Tokens could be as simple as Poker Chips...a ubiquitous item in those good ol' Days. Just a thought...