Why Antique Trunks Still Carry History – Varon Remembers

Old storage boxes aren’t just places to keep things. They’re keepers of journeys. Before plastic tubs filled every house, trunks were the way people travelled. Built solid, heavy duty, sometimes decorated with brass corners or painted lettering. I still think about when the circus came to town once a year. Posters glued to walls promised elephants, fire breathers, art station community acrobats — and always clowns. Looking at the trunk feels like it was there backstage, stuffed with costumes and props, waiting for the show to begin.

When I first laid eyes on the circus clown trunk, I just stared. The painted face staring upside down across the front felt like more than decoration. It felt like a memory of a lost world — a carnival gone by.