Antique of the Week: Victorian Style Travel Chest

Long before 'going on vacation' meant traveling by air, people traveled by train and by boat, often packing in a trunk or travel chest. Not restricted by airport weight limitations, trunks were packed to the brim with valuables from jewelry and clothing to collectibles.

In his 1841 work "Self Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson famously wrote about packing his own trunk for a trip.

Traveling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places. At home I dream that at Naples, at Rome, I can be intoxicated with beauty, and lose my sadness. I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark on the sea, and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the stern fact, the sad self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from. I seek the Vatican, and the palaces. I affect to be intoxicated with sights and suggestions, but I am not intoxicated. My giant goes with me wherever I go.

Now, is selling an antique trunk like the one of which Emerson wrote. In keeping with The Red Collection's pricing, this trunk is now being offered at $95. On July 21, the price will drop to $80.75. On August 20, the price will drop to $76, and on September 19, the price will drop to $66.50.

The particular trunk offered at The Red Collection would be considered one of the dome-style trunks, popular from around 1870-1920. "Built in many sizes and styles. They generally have a curved top that slopes in both directions and built using a variety of construction methods including molded ply and barrel construction among others," Eagle Trunks.com says.