BRETTUN'S VILLAGE

TRUNK SHOP


FOR SALE TO NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

 
The trunks shown here are not going to be listed on our web site until after Sunday, April 4.  Our newsletter subscribers get this advance sale opportunity.  This is about as exciting as it gets up here.

These trunks came in from all over Maine, compliments of the picker brigade.  They're starting to get into the swing of things, as the weather has been turning warmer.  More trunks will be arriving every week.

As in past newsletters, some of these trunks need a little work, others are race-ready.  We're showing them all to you, in case you have the "vision thing".  


First is a beautiful, medium-sized tin job:
 
 
Ooops, you're a bit late.  SOLD  Gotta move pretty quick around here.

Next is a great old wall trunk, in need of refinishing.
  Is that a big hinge or what?
 
What's a wall trunk?  Simple - you can mash this thing back against the wall nice and flush, but you can still get the top open.  The hinges allow the top to swing up without moving backward and banging into your new wallpaper.  Hinges are side-mounted and allow the top to rotate, as shown in the pictures.  Quite a space saver, because with most trunks you need to leave them about 6 inches out from the wall to keep from banging the house down every time you dive in for a sweater.  In Maine we call this type of trunk "wicked cool."
It's also Wicked SOLD as of 3/31.

A very nice Neat trunk (made by old man Neat down in Beantown)-
 
 
If you're looking for an old, old trunk, in original condition, this is it.  The canvas is as sound as the day it was born, or woven - whatever.  All original hardware in great condition, label intact, as shown.  I'll clean it up a little, but that's it for this one.  If authenticity is important to your collection, you need a trunk like this.  Nathan Neat was not known for cranking out massive quantities of trunks, just a small number of well-made trunks and bags.  This is a great example of one of his medium-sized travelers, complete with his trademark black stained canvas.  OK, this is important to me, but look at what I spend my time doing.  You're right, I may need some time away.  I'll ship this one to you, crying the whole time, for $175.  No key, but it does have a couple of nice old labels on it.  Measures 34 by 20 by 22 inches tall.

What you've got here is a standard canvas trunk, large size.
Won't go by UPS, due to size constraints, but we can ship it to you by Airborne (Second day air, so take out a second mortgage).  Not much of a salesman, am I?  Oh well, I don't want you to get your hopes up and then find out it's going to cost $100 just to ship it.  Nice trunk, will look great when we get done with it.  This one was full of beautiful old cotton bed sheets when I got it, and I do mean full.  We've been sleeping pretty well, lately.  This trunk measures 36 by 23 by 25 inches high, and will cost you $150 as is, $200 after refinishing, plus shipping.  Needs the standard amount of refinishing labor, clean or remove canvas, remove rust, tear pants, remove paper from inside, clean it up, sand all wood, refinish with stain and varnish, revarnish to get rid of kitten paw prints, replace handles, etc.  This one is yours for $125 as is, or a crisp $200 once redone.  Actually, since it's in pretty good shape, might be worth leaving this one in original condition.  Up to you.

What you see is what you get here.  Nothing fancy, but will be when we get done beating it up.
No further explanation necessary.  Measures 34 by 20 by 23 inches high.  Cost?  $90 as is, $180 redone.  Canvas is jumping off by itself from this seasoned veteran (that's a nice term for a beat-to-heck trunk).  Still has life as a display piece, but I wouldn't store your rock collection in it.  Tune in later for an update on its makeover.
(Footlocker on the bottom is SOLD)

WELCOME TO THE BARGAIN CELLAR!
Otherwise known as the Compost Pile... A couple of old wood boxes for you folks who know how to stretch a dollar.  First is a handmade wood box, brass corners, oak handles, nice big honking split in the wood on the front.  Covered in some weird goopy varnish stuff that's all bumpy.  Can be easily repaired, but I'm not going to bother with it.  $25 takes it, plus shipping.  Measures 32 by 16 by 13 inches high.
 
This next one, down below,  was a pretty nice handmade grain painted box, but the lid ran away and joined the circus I guess.  Still a sturdy box, with nice old decorative brass handles.  Might use it to keep your firewood in aside the firecracker stove down in the parlor.  Chuck magazines in it.  Or whatever.  Has old newspaper stuck in the bottom, for character, don't you know.  Measures 29.5 inches long, by 15.5 by 16 inches high.  $25, plus shipping.  What a deal.  It's killing me.
 
 

DO YOU HAVE THE VISION THING?
Well, one of our loyal newsletter subscribers did back in February.  They liked the trunk shown here, made by Houghton and Dutton.  Looked like one of the canvas covered trunks shown above when the newsletter came out.  Maybe you remember it.  Plain, nothing special, a little grungy.  We've done a little work on it.  Now it looks like this:
 
Look, we're not messing around here.  When we redo a trunk, it turns out pretty darned nice.

How to Buy a Trunk From This Site
See a trunk you like?  If you'd like to buy one, or ask questions about one, just send an e-mail stating, "I'd like to buy the so-and-so trunk".  I'll remove that trunk from our For Sale page and hold it for you until your payment arrives.  You can send a check, money order, or pay with plastic (call 207-782-0861 or mail your card number and expiration date).  Once the money clears, I'll ship your trunk to you by UPS (oversized trunks ship by Airborne, which means $econd Day Air), you check it over when you get it.  If you like it, great, we're all done.  If you don't like it, just send the darned thing right back for a refund.  The return shipping is your expense.  It's a simple method of conducting commerce over the web, but it has worked successfully for us for several years.
We do accept Visa and Mastercard payments, so you can call and place an order.  Please don't e-mail your card number as we have no security on this site.    (207)782-0861 is the number to call, so keep it by the computer!
 
Shipping and Costs
We're more than happy to ship a trunk to you.  We pack them in cardboard and ship via UPS, usually.  Shipping costs are not included in the trunk prices shown on the Brettun's Village web site.  Shipping costs are added to the cost of your selected trunk.  We do not charge for packing the trunk, and we do not mark up the shipping charge.  We ask only that you pay the actual shipping charge.  So if that sounds fair to you, why not place an order?  Send an e-mail to buy a trunk or ask any questions you have about the trunks shown.  No question is too nit picky.  We want to make sure you get just the trunk you want!

Want to figure out the shipping cost?  Take a visit to UPS and plug your zip code into the Quick Cost section.  For the zip code of origin use ours -  04210, and for the weight, use 50 pounds for a full size trunk, 35 for a medium, and 20 pounds for a little trunkster.  These are average weights.


See you next month!

Best Regards to all of our newsletter subscribers-
Churchill and Amanda Barton

Take me to Brettun's Village Trunk Shop- I want to be in Maine!