Lot Essay
Leather trunks, like the present lot, remained relatively unaltered in form from the reign of Charles II right through to the reign of George II. Perhaps the most well known trunk or coffer-maker was Richard Pigge, coffer-maker to Charles II, who supplied a large number of trunks covered with 'russia leather' to various members of the Court, both with and without drawers. A coffer-maker is found mentioned among the officers of the Royal Household until late in the 18th Century, and the accounts in the Record Office show that between 1750 and 1760, George II's coffer-maker, Edward Smith, supplied both the king and various members of the Court with a large number of trunks covered with russia leather (P. Macquoid and R. Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture, London, rev.ed., 1954, vol. II, p. 17). John Selby of St. Nicholas Lane whose label appears on the present lot, could possibly have been Smith's predecessor as 'Trunk-Maker' to George II. A related leather-covered trunk bearing the trade label of Edward Smith was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 2 February 1978, lot 107, and another similar trunk with drawers, was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 14 November 1996, lot 30.