Maj. Zimba's Bottled Curiosities American Folk Art Sideshow Advertising Trunk

Circa 1890-1910

A wonderfully evocative American folk art sideshow trunk retaining its original hand-painted advertising for

"Maj. Zimba's Bottled Curiosities." Executed on a substantial pine traveling trunk, the front is boldly decorated with whimsical lettering ingeniously transformed into writhing octopus tentacles, accompanied by a painted crate of bottled specimens, all rendered in rich earth tones with metallic gold highlights.

The imaginative composition captures the theatrical spirit and mystery of the golden age of traveling carnivals, dime museums, medicine shows, and curiosity exhibitions.

The trunk itself is of sturdy late 19th-century construction with wide pine boards, hand-cut joinery, original wrought and forged iron hardware, original hinges, hook latch, and early cut nails throughout.