Finally scored my Great Aunt Mountees Trunk!!

Hello everyone I'm new here...today my mother gave me my great aunts old travel trunk....

I eyed this trunk my whole childhood...totally enamored of it. My mom was going to take it to the dump !!!! cause its not in the best shape...but its easily over 100 years old and of course I nabbed it up and told her it cannot be taken to the dump! It has my great aunts name on it even!

Anyways so now that I have it I would like more info on it. Its so precious to me <3 I did look inside it and underneath to see if there were any maker markings ...I couldn't find any. But I'd like to know the age of it etc...so came here to see if any experts could point me in the right direction...I will try to figure out how to attach pictures right to this thread, but until then I will just put the flickr link. Thanks all!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61575347@N05/?

 

20150810_110538[1] by JO1713, on Flickr

 

Well I did one...but there's about 5 pictures on Flickr and its not letting me do the same thing for more pictures?

 

20150810_110546[1] by JO1713, on Flickr

 

20150810_110549[1] by JO1713, on Flickr

 

20150810_110557[1] by JO1713, on Flickr

 

20150810_110619[1] by JO1713, on Flickr

 

20150810_110629[1] by JO1713, on Flickr

 

Doesn't look too bad,they are very handy items for storage ! It looks to be 1900 ish,give or take. Isnt it fun to think about the stories it could tell?

 

I know! I was so shocked my mom was just going to take it to the dump although it does take up a fair bit of space. It used to be full of alot of her things...old coins she saved, diaries (I have one of them...) she was a interesting lady...wrote down everything she bought and the prices, haha...she also was sickly and in sanatoriums often and she describes treatments in her diaries etc. So cool!

 

nice trunk.................good save !

 

Hi,
It is good in that it has a flat top. Just add a sheet of glass and instant coffee table. Stand on end and you have an end table. I have several of my ancestors but
they are the domed types. Good for the end of the bed and just storage. One of mine is such poor poor poor condition, it should be thrown out but someday I will work on it.
greg

 

I have the same trunk that I got from my Grandfather. I put a piece of glass on the top of mine and used it as a coffee table.

 

That is a fine quality trunk. You do not see many as good. The UK market is keen on them right now but I have no idea how the US market is. They are very much 'collect in person' items.

 

I like the coffee table idea. It's a cool trunk!

I have one that is domed topped. It is at the end of my bed. It isn't an antique. It is great for storing blankets. I think I would prefer a flat top now.

 

I love it!

Got a question, though. Your title says "Mountees" and some of what's painted on the top of the trunk seems to say "MounteneS (although that S may be the beginning of a word that ends in uell.

Totally curious person that I am could you tell us what all that means? I assume your great aunt was not in the Canadian Mounted Police.

 

That's a typo on my part...oops...was so excited while typing this post I spelled her name wrong. Her name was Catharine Mountene Shuell. (that whole family had the tradition to go by their middle names.

Here is a picture of her, (middle) and her brother my great grandfather on right (Edward Weaver Shuell, who went by Weaver) and her husband (right) Nice to put a face to the antique

60048_470666461423_1057831_n by JO1713, on Flickr

 

Ahhhhhhh! What a nice photo to have. Thanks for the explanation. A very unusual name. I've run into the "called by their middle names" thing a fair amount while doing family research. My impression has been that it happens most often when the "first" names are constantly recycled - across generations and among first cousins.

 

Great trunk, and like the photo, too!

 

She's lovely! Such a sweet face.