Artifact of the Month - May

May's Artifact of the Month is a recent donation. This large storage trunk (2013.024.001) dates from the 1900s. The donor kept her father’s World War I uniform, which was donated to the Historical Center in 2010, inside the trunk. The trunk’s lock was made by Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company of Stamford, CT.  No shipping stickers or other identifying marks are on the trunk, so it was likely only used for storage.  Yale Lock Manufacturing Company was established in 1868 in Stamford by Linus Yale, Jr., and Henry Towne.  Yale, Jr. was the inventor of the cylinder pin-tumbler  lock, but he died a few months after the company was formed, never knowing how world famous his locks became. Henry Towne renamed Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company in 1883, keeping his deceased partner’s name for the business.