When Jesse James was assassinated by Bob Ford on April 3, 1882 his wife Zerelda notified three of Jesse’s cousins, brothers Joel Rufus & William N. “Babe” Hudspeth and their half brother Joseph Lamartine Hudspeth to come from their home in Lake City, Missouri to St. Joseph to help Zerelda with identification of Jesse’s body and the funeral. They immediately left home in a wagon and drove to St. Joseph, identified Jesse’s body and assisted with the funeral. After the funeral Zerelda told the cousins that they should come by the house, that she had Jesse’s trunk hid in the attic and that Jesse would have wanted them to have it. They went to the house with Zerelda where she gave them this trunk with contents. They immediately left for their homes in Lake City and upon arriving looked inside and found among other unknown items a Colt Model 1860 percussion Army revolver, belt & holster rig that belonged to Jesse James (p4A item # D9737835)

Rufus kept the trunk while Babe took possession of the Colt, belt & holster rig. A picture from about 1886, sold with the Colt revolver, shows Babe wearing the exact belt which is identifiable in the picture. Both items have been passed down in the Hudspeth families to their current owners who are direct descendants. The above information is attested to by a notarized affidavit from consignor of Turners, Missouri, a copy of which accompanies this lot. Joel Rufus Hudspeth was consignor’s great great-grandfather. All of the above information is also detailed extensively in the revolver lot.

This is an historic item that, beyond any reasonable doubt, when combined with the information in the revolver lot can lead to only one conclusion that this is truly Jesse James’ personal trunk.

These trunks are often called Sea Captain’s Chests as they were commonly purchased in Canton or Hong Kong by sea captains engaged in the China trade during the nineteenth century. The captain’s used them for their own personal purchases in the Chinese port, particularly for their wives and family back in New England. For their time they could be real treasure chests, filled with rare silks, tea, blue and white porcelains, delicate watercolors and carvings in ivory, jade and other exotic materials such as cinnabar.

These trunks came in two basic types. Relatively unadorned camphorwood or teak trunks, sometimes called campaign chests, sported brass corner guards and flush-set brass locks and handles. These trunks were designed to be carried in a ship’s hold if necessary. The other type of China Trade trunks were typically smaller than the teak chests, made of camphorwood and covered with leather decorated with designs in brass tacks and, sometimes, hand-painted floral designs. Their leather coverings are known in black, red, yellow, blue and green, black being the more common by far. The trunks range in size from approximately 25″ to 45″ inches in width, with numerous examples in between.

Once safely back in the captain’s homeport these decorative chests became cherished editions to the family’s bedrooms and upper hallways where they could be used to store seasonal clothing and other items of occasional use. Today, many generations later, they still perform similar functions in period settings and better examples have even been promoted by designers to more formal settings for use as cocktail tables and accent pieces.

Reference note by p4A editorial staff; August 2011.