Trunk myths

[Edward Tinker]

Ok, sorry, but I came across this, really made me laugh out loud, because if you substitute the word luger or 1911, Colt SSA etc, it would be the same

https://www.hmsantiquetrunks.com/tru...JmURsfnRjr2IIg

Incorrect, or made up, information about trunks is what I call "Trunk Myths". This incorrect information has been circulating for a long time. There are 3 reasons for this, one is that these trunk stories are romantic, and sound plausible. The other reason is what I call the "Magical World Wide Web" People seen to think that whenever they need some information, they just Google it!, and it magically appears on their computer. Not so, someone actually has to do the research, then put it where you can access it. When these intrepid trunk owners find no information on their trunk (because there is very little to find) they put their find on eBay, and say how rare it is because they found nothing like it during their 5 minute search of the internet. Or, they quote a trunk seller who has some good stories, and the myth continues. If you want to find " How The Roman Catholic Church Influenced the Design of Baroque Furniture", you will find reams of information. Trunks? Not so much. Why? Time. It takes many, many hours of searching to get even the smallest bit of information. Information that can be called a fact, not a story. Oh, and then try to tell Mr. trunk owner that his "Rare Pre Civil War Unicorn Covered Hump Trunk" is actually a 1910 Sears catalog Canvas covered model. Good luck! Listen, I could ramble for days, but you get the hint. Sometimes, people would rather hear a great story than the truth, and the truth is hard to get. Oh yeah, the 3rd reason. Common sense. Some people just don’t use common sense. If they did these stories would sound ridiculous. I will elaborate more in the following myth debunking. I spend time each day trying to find new facts about antique trunks. If I say it is a fact it is because I have information to back it up. Also, some myths are so preposterous that common sense is almost enough, and should be.

Ed

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

Ok, sorry, but I came across this...

What were you searching for??? New hobby???

[Doubs]

When I was in England in the 1980's, I knew a man who had a machine shop on a pig farm at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk County. He had an arrangement with the farm's owner that included driving wedding parties on weekends in an antique Rolls-Royce when needed. For years he had worked in the Tower of London restoring old weapons... and he was exceptionally good at it. Tiring of the daily commute from Ipswich to London, he set up his shop. I have a S&W 586 on which he modified the front sight by milling the ramp, slotting the base and making front sight blades to fit. Included was a duplicate of the original front sight with red insert. The work is absolutely brilliant.

What's this have to do with trunks? A friend of his once bid on two trunks at a Sotheby Auction in London that were catalogued incorrectly. They didn't contain what was advertised but when his friend found them filled with genuine Samurai swords, he kept them. Knowing that my friend often worked on edged weapons for the Tower, he gave him one of the blades that had some minor pitting and told him to practice his sharpening skills on it. My friend showed me the blade and explained the markings on the tang showing how many criminals had been beheaded with it to prove it's sharpness. As far as I know he never messed with the blade as it was unbelievably sharp as it was. Anyone who has never handled a true Samurai blade would likely be amazed at the construction. I know I was. They are in a class of their own among edged weapons.

That's my trunk story and even though it's second hand, I have absolutely no reason to doubt that it was true.

[Edward Tinker]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

What were you searching for??? New hobby???

uh, too late - wife says, no on trunks. She seems to think more than 3 or 7 is too many....

[mrerick]

I used to help support banking operations in Chicago. One of the people I worked with at the bank had a side business of cleaning out houses after an estate had taken all the valuables they wanted.

He used to hire high school students for the physical labor. The deal was that he got a fee and anything he removed from the homes.

On one job, his worker told him that there was a bag of tire chains out in the garage that was heavy... When he finally got around to checking it out, he found that he was the proud owner of about 5,000 silver dimes...

Ka Ching...

The only better story was one of my students'. He bought a recently built home, becoming the second owner after the one that had it built passed away just a year after moving in. About a year after they bought the house, they were doing a thorough cleaning of the kitchen, and found an absolutely brand new unfired M1991 Colt pistol on top of one of the kitchen cabinets.

He took his CCH class, and earned his permit which allowed him to lawfully transfer the handgun to his possession (sheriff permits are required in North Carolina).

Not in a trunk, but almost as good.

[ithacaartist]

[QUOTE=Edward Tinker;337130]
"Oh yeah, the 3rd reason. Common sense. Some people just don’t use common sense. If they did these stories would sound ridiculous."/QUOTE]

I think the term is an oxymoron. Good sense, or its application, doesn't strike me as all that common. More would be great, we might be able to get along without both politics and religion.