Some Special Antique Trunks

Personal Trunks of Isaac Libbey

Isaac Libbey was a trunk and chest maker in the mid 1800s. His shop was in Rochester, NH, on the road to Great Falls (now Somersworth). He also had a general store and taught school part time. His house and the shed where he made his trunks and had his general store are still standing in Rochester.

(Thanks very much to the Rochester, NH Historical Society for this information and photos)

Isaac Libbey's personal trunk, note the initials on top

Hide-covered trunk made and used by Isaac Libbey

Some of Isaac Libbey's tools

Label from an Isaac Libbey document case in our own collection.

Oshkosh Wardrobe Trunk used by Bela Lugosi while Touring

Oshkosh wardrobe trunk used by Bela Lugosi  

This trunk was horror star Bela Lugosi's personal wardrobe trunk which he used while traveling abroad performing "Dracula" on stage. The trunk is now in a private collection.

H. M. Barnum (Daughter of P. T. Barnum)

Helen Maria Barnum, second of four daughters of P. T. and Charity Barnum, was born April 18, 1840. She married Samuel Hurd when she was 17. Hurd later became the assistant manager and treasurer of his father-in-law's famous circus. The trunk below once belonged to Helen Barnum. It originally had a leather covering. Note her name stenciled on one end of the trunk. Note too the cast latches, handle loops and other hardware. The trunk is now in a private collection.

Rufus Henry Pope Esq. MP

When we found this little trunk not far from the US/Canadian border we immediately fell in love with it. We were told it was from Canada so we guessed that the "MP" by the name on the label stood either for Member of Parliament or Mounted Police (too old for Military Police). We had no idea how much of its history we would later find. A quick search online and we found the following:

Rufus Henry Pope took the place of his father, John Henry Pope, in the Canadian Parliament upon his father's death in 1889. The younger Pope served until 1905. He was named a Senator in 1911. Both men belonged to the Conservative Party for Compton County, Quebec. Rufus H. Pope died in 1944 and is buried in the Cookshire Anglican Cemetery.

The trunk sold from our Trunk Barn before we could offer it online. It is now in a private collection.

The photos below show the trunk after we restored it.

Have information about a special trunk that you'd like to share? Just send us an email to . We'll be glad to post it  and give you credit.

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