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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Vintage Old Trunk For White Wednesday

This is really pretty cool....I had no idea what we had until we opened this old trunk!


When we moved 21 years ago we moved this old trunk from my husbands old farm house which he bought from his grandparents. We left it in the garage, it looked crusty and smelled pretty bad so neither of us felt like going through it and sort of forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago we decided it was time to move it out to where the climate is drier and then we would look inside.


It belonged to my husbands Great Grandmother's sister Mary Gausman. Mary was an unmarried school teacher and enjoyed traveling during her summers off. I love that some of the old sticker is still visible. I imagine this is Union Pacific Railroad, we know she traveled out west often. Dated 1899. Looks like St. Paul and that would be the closest town. It looks like 7 15 before the 1899 so that tells me it might have been checked in on July 15.

We have the travel brochures and souvenirs from her travels.

I took photos while opening it....

An old fur collar surprisingly in very good shape with a really cool old button on the end. It was on top just like this so she must have cherished it...


An old pennant from a trip...

Old spats (I wonder why did she have 2 pairs of spats), crochet night caps (I think), a cotton petticoat trimmed with crochet lace, an applique tablecloth, maybe it's a light weight bed cover, a few crochet doilies and some old blankets and old underwear bottoms!...

A beautiful black purse carefully wrapped up in something else and in perfect condition...she must have cherished this purse!

There were some other items but I'm only showing the best, otherwise this post would be way too long...

A beautiful hand pieced and hand quilted quilt...it's a little yellowed, it should be off white and I think I'll try to soak it properly and brighten it up a little. Otherwise very little wear, mostly just on the scalloped edges. Did she make the quilt? We'll never know.

A chenille bedspread that is in good shape but could use a gentle washing.


All of the photos are shot in our pole barn which has only a dirt floor for now but great care was taken while going through all of this and nothing touched the floor. Someone had put a very nasty smelling bug deterrent inside years ago which is completely gone except for the smell...I'll bet whatever it was has been long banned...but...not a single bug was found, not even in the fur collar!


This trunk has sat like this for decades, I suppose Mary G. packed it all away herself a long time ago. I can't believe I didn't look 21 years ago but then maybe I would not have appreciated it as much as I do now. I was pretty much surprised to say the least when I found what was inside.

We have more things that belonged to her that are not from this trunk that I'll post another time.

Thanks for stopping by!


Linking to Faded Charm White Wednesday


Linking to Happy to Design for Sunday Favorites

20 comments:

  1. OMG! What a treasure chest you have! And that its from a family member, that's just icing on the cake.
    I can't wait to see what else you found!
    Hugs- Tete

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  2. Wow! Your trunk holds some amazing treasures! How fun it must've been discovering all of those goodies. I especially love the beautiful quilt! Happy White Wednesday!

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  3. It is a time capsule, a treasure, and immensely interesting. hugs♥olive

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  4. I can't believe you waited all these years to open it. Thank you for sharing your story and your treasures!

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  5. Wow, treasures!! I'll bet that was fun!

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  6. How exciting to go through an old Treasure Chest from a Relative that has stood still in time for so long!!! I think it's wonderful that you documented the unveiling of all the old Lovelies and properly appreciate what your Great Aunt left behind... even the old Chest is fabulous. I inherited an old Steamtrunk Chest from my Dad that had been my Great-Grandmothers, alas, all the contents had long ago been taken out. *le sigh* But I sure do cherish that old Chest.

    Dawn... The Bohemian

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  7. Treasure chest indeed! Aren't you glad you decided to open it up? Happy WW.

    -Danielle

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  8. What wonderful family heirlooms! A treasure for sure!

    Happy WW!
    Lori

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  9. I am so excited for you. Truly a treasure chest. I find as time goes by things from my family's past have much more meaning than when I was younger.Happy White Wednesday.
    Annette

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  10. Wow! What fun! Love the quilt and clothing you found--what treasures!

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  11. That is a wonderful treasure to find!! I love that you know the history of the piece and who the items belonged to.
    I agree that we appreciate this stuff more when we are a little older. It was meant to sit and wait until you were ready for it.
    Jane

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  12. This is such a fabulous look into the past and it's even more special due to you knowing who it belonged to. The quilt is beautiful and the chenille bedspread looks similar to many in my collection.

    I so enjoyed your post today. Thanks so much for sharing your heirloom treasures.

    I'm visiting for White Wednesday and I would love to have you come visit with me. ♥

    Have a wonderful day,
    Stephanie ♥

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  13. My heart almost stopped, just from your pics! What a wonderful family heirloom! She must have been some special lady. :)mercedes

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  14. Oh my gosh! What fun for you! I'll bet it was like opening a time capsule, wasn't it? What incredible treasures and awesome memories that trunk held all these years....Wow.....

    Happy WW to you!

    xoxo laurie@heavens-walk

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  15. What a treasure! I inherited an old trunk and it had a fur like that but it was completely deteriorated, I was scared to pick it up at first! hee! hee!
    Yours is certainly special!
    karen...

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  16. So fun going thru treasure trunks! We had one of those from my hubby's grandmother. So fun! His grandmother had 40 hankies! We have been sorting and washing vintage linens this summer and will be selling the extras so others can enjoy them.
    You have some great decorating ideas.
    ~ Julie

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  17. What a beautiful trunk, a veritable treasure chest! And the fact that you are descendants of the original owner just makes it all the better!

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  18. Hello Faye...

    Ohhh my goodness...what a sweet treasure you have! I just love this kind of thing...to try and imagine all the stories that these treasured pieces could tell. The trunk itself is awesome, however I can never resist an antique trunk! It was so much fun getting a peek of some of the items. The quilt is fabulous! Sooo many interesting and awesome treasures...thank you so much for sharing them with us for the Sunday Favorites party! It's so nice meeting you, Faye! I hope that you'll join us again!

    I also wanted to thank you for adding Happy To Design to you list of blog follows! I am just tickled pink, my friend! I'm looking forward to getting to know you!

    Warmest autumn wishes,
    Chari @Happy To Design

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  19. What a gift to open this trunk and discover so many wonderful treasures inside. I would LOVE to find something like this that belonged to a family member of mine or my husbands. So fun...

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