The van gets a trunk

Yesterday after dropping my youngest at preschool, my van shifted into auto pilot and took me right to my favorite thrift store. It tends to do this every few weeks or so. I try to act relatively cool at my thrift haunts, but I could feel my mouth making a big WOW when I saw this.

An absolutely gorgeous antique trunk. The best part (besides the price) had to be the shipping labels all over the back and sides. Remember when people shipped their trunks i.e. railroad travel and all of that?? Me neither, but I've seen it on TV. The incredible weathered colors and markings made by time on this gem are simply amazing (and if I could figure out how to make my pix larger than "large" on my blog I'd blow these babies up so you could see even better.)

I love the bits left of the broken handle. Not that an intact handle wouldn't have been nice. It was quite a trick both lugging this awkward, huge thing up to the register and getting it out and into my van.

And then there's the hardware...

Here's a closeup of the inside lined with ghosts from the past.

I want to put this awkward 50lb+ trunk on my scanner and scan every inch. However photos will have to do. Wouldn't the above make a great background/starting point for a collage?
(I left the pix big here so if you click and print you can do just that.)

I know this isn't the best use or place for my Tuesday find, but for now it'll sit here as a printer stand. I'd love the trunk for a coffee table, but I can see my three dears picking at the barely-still-intact mailing labels and therefore causing a mother to yell...LOUD.

The other best part...the price. I even shocked my husband who is used to my bargain hunting prowess. I purchased this trunk for a mere $4.00 (USD). Kid you not. That's why it's just silly to ignore your vehicle when it wants to take a quick jaunt to the thrift store.