1. The manufacture of trunks is equally simple with that of making
harness. In common cases, it consists chiefly in lining the inside of
a wooden box with paper, or some kind of cloth, and covering the
outside with a skin, or with leather, which is fastened to the wood by
means of tacks. Narrow strips of leather are fastened upon hair trunks
with brass nails, by way of ornament, as well as to confine the work.
2. Instead of a wooden box, oblong rims of iron, and very thick, solid
pasteboard, fastened together by means of strong thread, are used in
the best kinds of trunks. The frame or body, thus formed, is covered
with some substantial leather, which is first stuck on with paste, and
then secured by sewing it to the pasteboard with a waxed thread. Over
the whole, are applied strips of iron, fastened with brass or copper
nails with large heads. The lines and figures on the leather, added by
way of ornament, are produced by a _crease_, a tool made of wood,
ivory, or whalebone. Its form is much like that of the blade of a
common paper-folder.
3. How long trunk-making has been a separate trade, cannot be exactly
ascertained. The trunk-makers in France were incorporated into a
company, in 1596. In the United States, this branch of business is
very commonly united with that of the saddler and harness-maker.
[Illustration: SOAP & CANDLE MAKER.]