I am restoring an old chest and while removing a cover under the lid I found this label. As you can see, it’s completely undecipherable except for “***halle & co.” However there’s another label underneath it. I wonder if I can separate them by putting it in water (like stamps off an envelope), but I’m afraid of destroying it if it has any value whatsoever.
The chest is made of wood and metal, but it’s in a horrible state. Hinges and screws have been replaced prior to my owning, and the wood is damaged. I plan on restoring it, but would like to know it’s history. Judging by materials and the label, I recon this is from 1900-1940s and American.
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Jesus imgbox is giving me PTSD flashbacks of dial-up. I can hear the modem yelling at me while the image tries to load. I can hear my sister yelling at me to get off the internet so she can call her friends. Wait! Wait! Is that… Ayo fuckin Ed, Edd n Eddie is on!
Yeah I noticed that. What else is available that works well? I think that Imgur is horrible on mobile. Also I don’t want to sign up for shit just to post a picture.
You can just upload to Lemmy directly. Works even directly in the comments using the picture icon.
I’ve done that before, but I didn’t have the option here. Maybe it’s the app.
I found a Danish clothing company named J. Suurballe & Co. That existed around 1910.
You can see a picture here: https://arkiv.dk/vis/3582947
Another example: https://arkiv.dk/vis/3516231
Take a look also on page 85 on this PDF: https://silkeborgarkiv.dk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/OCR-Viborg_Amt_Vejviser_1904-1906.pdf
It seems to be an ad for that company.
I hope this helps.
Wow, I’m always impressed what kind of stuff the people in communities like this can dig up.
When I saw the photo earlier I thought there was no chance of finding anything out. After seeing your comment it seems very likely you found the answer. This is what I love about the internet.Could very well be spot on. I’m in Denmark and bought this off DBA anyway. Thanks .While the chest is probably not of any historical value, I’m comforted by the fact that I’m not destroying anything by restoring it within my abilities. I’ll sand it, paint and maybe add some bracing. The purpose is to make use of it, like everyone who owned this before.
I’m in Denmark
It sounds we have a match. :)
Make sure to refresh my post. I added a third link and if you understand Danish it may help.
I think so. I’m in Hobro, so it makes sense that it’d end up here.
Anyway, I’ve gained some knowledge about it and appreciate it. I still intend to restore and use it, instead of tossing it.
The Suurballe family seems to be very influential even today. The “manufacturer” part of their company name indicates that their products where made by hand instead of machines, but still on a industrial scale. Many things from this period are worth restoring in comparison to contemporary pricing. I wouldn’t be able to buy a functional chest from anywhere without spending more than it’ll take to restore this.
It looks like there might be a capital L or I and a capital S as well. Further, the lowercase h could also be a lowercase b. It’s slightly curved on the right.
Probably “L. S***balle & Co.”
The L has a bigger serif on the left, if that was an I, the serifs would most likely be evenly sized. The b is shaped inward enough to meet the stem. Wondering if the letter after the S is a u. [Edited! I changed my opinion.]
Is there a maker’s mark anywhere in the piece? Sometimes there will be an engraving, stamp, woodburn, etc.
No, not on the wood anywhere. There are several layers of paint and I was quite surprised to find the label under cardboard cover.
Wait… I have the handles which I cleaned for paint using terpentine. Not sure if they’re original, but the side handles have markings on the inside that says “2 Turner H.038 Australia”.
Guess it’s from Australia. Or at least the hardware.
Looks like it starts with an “L” and 2nd or 3rd character might be an “s”.
