Sale-ing, Sale-ing

This week's garage sale prize....

Steamer Trunk. I got it for $10.

Is it horrible to be so excited about something when I don't know what I'm going to do with it?

Especially when it's really beat up....

That says September 24, 1948, if you can't read it.

Still, I think it's pretty amazing.

Part of me wants to clean it up and try to make it shiny again. Part of me thinks it's wonderful the way it is.

The leather buckles on the front died of old age, but the handles on the sides are still holding up. The leather cover is tattered in many places, but on the top you can still see the starburst designs. Inside seems to be lined with linen or other soft fabric that has been worn through in spots -- and there is obviously a shelf missing. The latch on the front -- the wood above the lock and key has been stripped away in a pattern that suggests someone broke into this chest at one time.

I love it.