18th Century Material Culture

Trunks & Portmanteaus

Trunk Maker
Labels
English Trade Card “THE OLD THREE TRUNKS”
18th Century
(Lewis Walpole Library)
English Trade Card or Trunk Maker Label for Maltwood’s, Trunk and Case Maker
18th Century
(The British Museum)
English Trade Card orTrunk Maker Label for William Robertson
Late 18th Century
(The British Museum)
English Trade Card of Samuel Forsaith, Trunk Maker, London
18th Century
(Lewis Walpole Library)
English Trade Card of Thomas Griffith, Trunk Maker
c. 1775
(The Fitzwilliam Museum)
Dome Topped Trunks
&
Document Boxes
 “A Harlot’s Progress”
by William Hogarth c. 1732
(Metropolitan Museum of Art)
 Detail: “A Harlot’s Progress”
by William Hogarth c. 1732
(Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Detail: “Modern Love: The Elopement”
by John Collet 1764
(Public Domain)
Detail: “A Harlot's Progress, Plate 5 / A Harlot's Progress”
by William Hogarth 1732
(The British Museum)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L44”, W22”, H18”)
c. 1720 - 1760
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L32” x W16” x H13”)
c. 1775 - 1800
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L39”, W 21”, H 19”)
c. 1700 - 1750
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Brass Leather Covered Trunk Initialed “E+J”
c. 1780
(Herbert Gordon Gasson Antiques Rye)
English Leather Covered Trunk Lined in Linen (L44 1/2”, W18 1/4”, H17”)
c. 1720 - 1740
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
English Hair - On Cowhide Covered Trunk (L45” x W19 1/4” x H23”)
c. 1779
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Hair - On Cowhide Covered Trunk (L41” x W20” x H20”)
Late 18th Century
(Skinner)
English Leather Covered Trunk Owned by Philip Morgon, a Mason of Bristol (L 41 5/8”, W 22 1/4”, H 21 5/8””)
by Edward Smith of Smith & Lucas c. 1751 - 1760
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
 Leather Bound Trunk
18th Century
(Bonham’s Auction House)
 Leather Bound Trunk
18th Century
(Bonham’s Auction House)
Continental Europe Leather Covered Trunk
1749
(Private Collection)
Scottish Trunk Carried by General John Cope when he Fled from the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745
c. 1740
(National Museums of Scotland)
American Leather Campaign Trunk Owned by General George Washington
Oval Plate Engraved “Genl. Washington / No. 3” c. 1775 - 1783
(Mount Vernon)
American Leather Campaign Trunk Owned by General George Washington
by John Summocks “Trunk Maker from London” c. 1775 - 1793
(Mount Vernon)
American Leather Campaign Trunk Owned by General George Washington
by John Summocks “Trunk Maker from London” c. 1775 - 1793
(Mount Vernon)
American Leather Campaign Trunk Owned by General George Washington
by John Summocks “Trunk Maker from London” c. 1775 - 1793
(Mount Vernon)
 American Hair - On Cowhide Covered Trunk
Used by General George Washington for Correspondence during the Revolution
Manufactured in Boston by Merchant John Head c. 1775
Second Hand Purchase by Washington after the Evacuation of Boston in 1776
(Mount Vernon)
 American Hair - On Cowhide Covered Trunk
Used by General George Washington for Correspondence during the Revolution
Manufactured in Boston by Merchant John Head c. 1775
Second Hand Purchase by Washington after the Evacuation of Boston in 1776
(Mount Vernon)
 American Hair - On Cowhide Covered Trunk
Used by General George Washington for Correspondence during the Revolution
Manufactured in Boston by Merchant John Head c. 1775
Second Hand Purchase by Washington after the Evacuation of Boston in 1776
(Mount Vernon)
 Trunk Plate from an American Hair - On Cowhide Covered Trunk
Used by General George Washington for Correspondence during the Revolution
Manufactured in Boston by Merchant John Head c. 1775
Second Hand Purchase by Washington after the Evacuation of Boston in 1776
(Mount Vernon)
American Leather Covered Trunk Used by John Hancock to Store Papers on April 19, 1775
c. 1770
(Worcester Historical Museum)
French “Russia” Leather Covered Trunk
c. 1700 - 1750
(Yew Tree House Antiques)
Leather Covered Trunk (L 39 1/2”, W 20 1/2”, H 20”)
c. Late 17th - Early 18th Century
(Christie’s Auction House)
Floral Crewelwork Covered Chest Initialed “S.N.G. 1779” (L23”, W10 1/4”, H14 1/2”)
1779
(Northeast Auctions - The SueMacKay & Peter Field Collection)
Spanish Leather Covered Trunk
Early 18th Century
(Private Collection)
Spanish Leather Covered Trunk
Early 18th Century
(Private Collection)
Spanish Leather Covered Trunk
Early 18th Century
(Private Collection)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L30 1/4”, W11 1/2”, H12 1/4”)
c. 1700 - 1750
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Pigskin Covered Trunk
18th Century
(Bonhams)
 English Deerskin Covered Trunk (L23 7.8”, W11”, H11 1/4”)
by Drivers & Eyre, Lined with Johnson’s British Gazette & Sunday Monitor (12/13/1786) c. 1700 - 1750
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Leather Covered Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
c. 1790
(Private Collection)
 Leather Covered Trunk
Leather Covered18th Century
Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
Privatec.Collection)
1790
(Private Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
c. 1790
(Private Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
c. 1790
(Private Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
c. 1790
(Private Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
c. 1790
(Private Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk (L18”, W7 1/2”, H7”)
c. 1790
(Private Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk or Coffer
c. 1730
(Bonhams)
English Leather Covered Small Trunk from London
Made by James Bryant, 18th Century
(James Julia Auctions)
English Leather Covered Small Trunk from London
Made by James Bryant, 18th Century
(James Julia Auctions)
 Silk Needlework Covered Trunk (L22”, D11 3.4”, H16”)
18th Century
(Northeast Auctions - The SueMacKay & Peter Field Collection)
 Detail: English Small Trunk
“An English MAN of WAR taking a FRENCH PRIVATEER” by Carington Bowles after Robert Dighton 1781
(The British Museum)
 Detail: English Small Trunk
“An English MAN of WAR taking a FRENCH PRIVATEER” by Carington Bowles after Robert Dighton 1781
(The British Museum)
 Detail: English Small Trunk
“The LOVER’S DISGUISE” by Carington Bowles 1776
(Lewis Walpole Library)
 Detail: English Small Trunk
“The Elopement, or a Tripp to Scotland” by Sayer & Bennet, London, 1777
(The British Museum)
 Detail: English Trunk
“The Elopement, or a Tripp to Scotland” by Sayer & Bennet, London, 1777
(The British Museum)
Leather Covered Trunk Decorated with Brass Tacks and Lined with Uncut Sheets of Playing Cards
by James Bryant, London Trunk Maker c. 1773 +
(Chris Fox Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk Decorated with Brass Tacks and Lined with Uncut Sheets of Playing Cards
by James Bryant, London Trunk Maker c. 1773 +
(Chris Fox Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk Decorated with Brass Tacks and Lined with Uncut Sheets of Playing Cards
by James Bryant, London Trunk Maker c. 1773 +
(Chris Fox Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk Decorated with Brass Tacks and Lined with Uncut Sheets of Playing Cards
by James Bryant, London Trunk Maker c. 1773 +
(Chris Fox Collection)
Leather Covered Trunk Decorated with Brass Tacks and Lined with Uncut Sheets of Playing Cards
by James Bryant, London Trunk Maker c. 1773 +
(Chris Fox Collection)
 Trunk Owned by Continental Navy Captain Tobias Lear (August1, 1737 - November 6, 1781) with Playing Card Paper Lining
Superintendent of the Continental Yard at Langdon’s Island in the Piscataqua River across from Portsmouth, New Hampshire
by London Trunk Maker James Bryant 1773
(Jamestown Settlement)
English Leather Covered Trunk (17” x 9 1/2” x 8 1/4” )
c. 1720 - 1760
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Pony Hide Covered Trunk Initialed “IP” (15 1/6” x 10 1/2” x 9”)
18th Century
(Antique Hadeen)
Spanish / Portuguese Embossed Leather Covered Trunk
c. Late 17th - Early 18th Century
(Bonham’s Auction House)
Leather Covered Small Trunk or “Document” Box
c. 1770 - 1800
(National Park Service)
Leather Covered Small Trunks or “Document” Boxes
18th Century
(Tom Wnuck Estate)
Leather Covered Small Trunk or “Document” Box
c. 1769
(Bonhams - William H. Guthman Collection)
English Leather Covered Small Trunk or “Document” Box Stamped with the Royal Cipher and Crown
18th Century
(Bonhams - William H. Guthman Collection)
Leather Covered Small Trunk or “Document” Box
c. 1760 - 1765
(Private Collection)
Sealskin Covered Small Trunk or “Document” Box
Late 18th Century
(Parks Canada, Quebec)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk or “Document” Box from Maryland
Owned by Former Slave, Aunt Letty, who Lived with the Beale Family of Williamsburg, Virginia 18th Century
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk, Dispatch or “Document” Box
Marked for William Pitt and the Repeal of the Stamp Act “Stamp Act Repealed - March 18 1766”
(James D. Julia Auctions)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk, Dispatch or “Document” Box
Marked for William Pitt and the Repeal of the Stamp Act “Stamp Act Repealed - March 18 1766”
(James D. Julia Auctions)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk, Dispatch or “Document” Box
Marked for William Pitt and the Repeal of the Stamp Act “Stamp Act Repealed - March 18 1766”
(James D. Julia Auctions)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk, Dispatch or “Document” Box
Marked for William Pitt and the Repeal of the Stamp Act “Stamp Act Repealed - March 18 1766”
(James D. Julia Auctions)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk, Dispatch or “Document” Box
Marked for William Pitt and the Repeal of the Stamp Act “Stamp Act Repealed - March 18 1766”
(James D. Julia Auctions)
 Leather Covered Small Trunk, Dispatch or “Document” Box
Marked for William Pitt and the Repeal of the Stamp Act “Stamp Act Repealed - March 18 1766”
(James D. Julia Auctions)
Leather Covered “Document” Box Reported to have Belonged to an East India Company Official
c. 1750 - 1800
(Christie’s Auction House)
Flat Top
Trunks
American Leather Campaign Trunk Owned by General George Washington
c. 1775 - 1783
(Mount Vernon)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L 43 1/4”, W 19 1/4”, H 12 7/8”)
by Charles Townsend c. 1740 - 1770
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Leather Covered Trunk Purchased by George Washington for His Granddaughter, Eliza
Late 18th Century
(Mount Vernon)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L 19 3/4”, W 10 1/4”, H 7”)
by Edward Smith c. 1760 - 1780
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
English Leather Covered Trunk (L 18 3/8”, W 12 1/8”, H 6 3/4”)
by Gladman & Randall c. 1775 - 1785
(Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
Trunk
Plates
English Brass Trunk Plate Owned by Captain Hawker, H.M. 62nd Regiment of Foot, Light Infantry
c. 1775
(Photograph by Eric Schnitzer)
Wood
Trunks
Wood Campaign Trunk or Chest
18th Century
(Public Domain)
Chest of Lieutenant James Grant, H.M. 77th Regiment of Foot
c. 1757 - 1763
(Steve Rogers Arms & Americana)
Chest of Lieutenant James Grant, H.M. 77th Regiment of Foot
c. 1757 - 1763
(Steve Rogers Arms & Americana)
Administration Paper Trunk Owned by General Thomas Gage, The Last Royal Governor of Massachusetts
c.1770
(Clements Library)
Administration Paper Trunk Owned by General Thomas Gage, The Last Royal Governor of Massachusetts
c.1770
(Clements Library)
Administration Paper Trunks Owned by General Thomas Gage, The Last Royal Governor of Massachusetts
c.1770
(Clements Library)
American Chest / Storage Box in Red Paint
c. 1750 - 1790
(Private Collection)
American Chest / Storage Box in Red Paint
c. 1750 - 1790
(Private Collection)
Portmanteaus
&
Valises
Leather Portmanteau
18th Century
(Fort Ticonderoga)
Leather Portmanteau
18th Century
(Fort Ticonderoga)
“Return From the Grand Tour”
Oxford 1778
(Lewis Walpole Library)
“Return From the Grand Tour”
Oxford 1778
(Lewis Walpole Library)
“Return From the Grand Tour”
Oxford 1778
(Lewis Walpole Library)
“School Boys giving Charity to a Blind Man”
byWilliam Redmore Bigg, 1782
(Michael Finney Antique Books & Prints)
“School Boys giving Charity to a Blind Man”
byWilliam Redmore Bigg, 1782
(Michael Finney Antique Books & Prints)
 A Dinner Conversation
Marcellus Laroon the Younger c. 1735 - 1740
(Yale Center for British Art)
 A Dinner Conversation
Marcellus Laroon the Younger c. 1735 - 1740
(Yale Center for British Art)
 “TAX ON POST HORSES”
by Paul Sandby After John Nixon 1782
(The British Museum)
Purdie’s Virginia Gazette Advertisement of Williamsburg, Virginia
10 January 1777
(Newspapers.com)
 Acknowledgements

The material contained within these slideshows is presented for educational purposes only. The
18th Century Material Culture Resource Center does not personally own any of the items
depicted herein and is indebted to the countless museums, libraries, and private collectors who
willingly share their collections with the public through the internet. Every attempt has been
made to credit these organizations and individuals for their contributions as best as possible.

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contact the 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center and we will try to answer your
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- The 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center