Trunk

Brass nail studding was a popular decorative technique for leather trunks from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. Trunks during these periods were wooden carcasses covered with thin leather as a waterproofing measure, and the brass nails not only acted as decoration but helped to secure the leather while protecting it from abrasion.

This trunk features a label on the inside of its lid which advertises the business of Richard Lucas, a trunk maker at Dover Castle. His shop was at the corner of Nicholas Lane and Cannon Street in London. According to the label, Lucas is said to have made trunks from Russian leather that were suitable for exportation and traveling. He also advertises his ability to make leather fire buckets and cases for China and glass plates. The cartouche at the top of the label depicts a castle, suggestive of his shop name, Dover Castle. A related trunk with the same label sold at auction in England in 2022 and is dated on the lid 1757 in brass nails, suggesting the CWF trunk likely dates around that time as well.

Richard Lucas may also have been in partnership with Edward Smith in London. A trunk by that duo is in the Colonial Williamsburg collection 1971-400a.
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