Hi Daisy,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

Traveling trunks appeal to collectors because they combine history, craftsmanship, design, and a tangible connection to travel. They evoke the era of ocean liners, rail travel, grand hotels, immigration, military service, and the golden age of long-distance travel and are a physical record of an era when travel itself was an important social experience.

Original labels, stencils, shipping tags, and baggage stickers can make a particular trunk especially evocative. Leather, canvas, wood, brass, metal corners, painted finishes, and elaborate hardware give trunks a strong visual presence.

Even when the original owner is unknown, a trunk suggests departure and arrival, adventure, and the possibility of an untold personal story. Some, particularly luxury trunks, are essentially pieces of furniture when they are repurposed as coffee tables, storage or benches.

Atkinson & Long Manufacturing Company made locks and trunk hardware, not the trunks themselves. A 1928 U.S. patent was assigned to Atkinson & Long Manufacturing Co. specifically for a trunk lock. The patent describes its application to general-service and wardrobe trunks. Their locks were marketed as “Everlasting Lock” and were stamped ATKINSON & LONG MFG. CO., sometimes with New York, N.Y.

Surviving examples show the locks installed on trunks made by other manufacturers. The fact that Atkinson & Long locks turn up on many different trunk styles is another indication that they were a hardware supplier rather than a trunk maker; it's important to note that the code "T6656" is a key code.

I don't notice anything specific about this trunk that would lend itself to attribute it to a particular maker; when other unattributed but similar steamer trunks have come to auction recently, and in as-is condition, they typically sell for between $75 and $150.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

An antique brass mounted steamer trunk, fitted with an Atkinson & Long Manufacturing Co. “Everlasting” lock
unattributed maker, early 20th Century
With brass bindings to the frame, the hinged lid opening to a divided and lined interior with divided tray, fitted with an Atkinson & Long Mfg Co brass "Everlasting lock"
12 inches high by 36 inches long by 21 inches deep
CONDITION: with wear commensurate to age and use.
PROVENANCE: unknown
$75-150*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia