Possible Civil War leather and wood box I found in the water... any thoughts?

[aquachigger]

Hey everyone... I recently found this leather and wood carrying case in the river buried in the mud. I was digging a lot of Civil War items there and have a suspicion that this could possibly date to the war. I took it to my relic club meeting last night, and one member seemed to think it was an issued item in the Cavalry. Notice the small piece of a curved leather handle. Can anyone out there help me with this or know someone that could? My research so far hasn't lead me to much in the way of CW leather gear. I really appreciate any help you can toss this way. Thanks...

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

OMG its older than some of us thought. I also suggested that you clean the latch, I actually requested it 2x, but you may have missed it.

Its either MAR 1860 or 1869 I cant tell. Im presuming its 1869 by your reaction. Now we need to find the patent.

 

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[Breezie]

OMG it is Civil War era! I also suggested that you clean the latch but you may have missed it.

Yes you did BCH, and now you need to find the patent. From what I can see, it looks like 5 March 1869.

PS:

AquaChigger: I have been watching you sleuth for years here and I know if you REALLY wanted my phone number, you'd have it in minutes!

Got it! LOL

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

At first I thought it said 60 and I read back and changed it. . Thats a cool latch with the star. It even has a keyhole. Too bad its not CW.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Heres a trunk that may have the same latch (or the same manufacturer) but with 2 patents..
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rare-american-1800s-slatted-oak-tin-trunk

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Its going to be tough with out a day to go with the month but its an old patent and this is the only one that caught my eye on a fast search but I dont know if its the one. http://www.google.com/patents?id=By...A#v=onepage&q=lock March 1869 "lock "&f=false

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

It may be Star Lock Works because "Star Lock Works in Philadelphia made a variety of nice brass trunk locks for trunk makers. They didn't actually make the trunks, but they made really nice trunk locks. They were founded in 1836 by Mr. Liebrich and originally the locks were marked with C. Liebrich, Phila. and then in 1869 he retired and two partners, Hillebrand and Wolf took over the company and called it Star Lock Works. They made trunk locks and stays, keys, padlocks, latches and springs. An early trade card advertising Star Lock Works was shown in the Bicentenial exhibit for Philadelphia in 1976. I think they finally went out of business in the very late 1800s."

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=163960.0;wap2

A lot of information out there on Hillebrand and Star Lock Works.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...d=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
"...many people think that the name on the lock would be the trunk maker, when in fact this is rarely the case. There were several large lock companies that made most of the trunk locks, including Eagle, Star, Yale, and Corbin. Many of the locks do have a patent date on them and that can help estimate the age of the trunk, but won't tell you who made it."

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Maybe Im reaching with the star but its most likely one of the major companies mentioned..

 

[aquachigger]

You guys nailed it! Thanks for your help with it and all of the extra information provided. And BCH... I do see where you suggested I clean up the lock. I missed it earlier, sorry. Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I believe patents were only good for 10-15 years and then it had to be removed. Often companies will incorporate a second patent before the first one expires to keep it under their control

So the date on this lock would be 1869-1884 post CW.

 

[olepossum]

even if it was machine sewn they had a sewing machine during the cw that was a jack stitcher you would pull the handle it would make so mant stitches in one inch i have a leather bag sewed on one of those machine s i will post on later this eve