Selection from the collection

A weekly look at an artifact on display at the Nevada State Museum

This wonderful old trunk, seen right, was brought by sailing ship around the southern tip of South America and over the Sierra Nevada by wagon to Carson Valley in 1866 by Augusta Wilhelmina Dietz. Known as "Minna" she came from Morsch, Germany to marry Augustus Frederick Dressler who had purchased a ranch on the West Fork of the Carson River.

Built of thick slabs of hand-hewn and planed pine with dovetailed joints and wooden pegs, the trunk is reinforced with heavy hand-forged iron straps and hardware. Already old by the time it came to America, the trunk reveals construction techniques dating it to the early 1800s or possibly even the late 1700s.

Painted designs suggesting two family crests or emblems decorate the trunk. The left side shows a knight with flowers on his breastplate and flowers rising from his helmet. Above the knight a banner bears the name 'Johann Bernhard Tricke.' The knight on the right has a type of cross on his breastplate and a rearing horse with feathery mane rising from his helmet. The banner above appears to read 'ANNA BILLEB, 1600.'

The Nevada State Museum, 600 North Carson Street, is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Upcoming events at the museum include: Clothing and Textile Curator's Gallery Walk by Jan Loverin, 1:30-2:30 p.m. March 3; and Natural History Gallery Walk by Dr. George Baumgardner. Call Deborah Stevenson for reservations to either, at 687-4810, ext. 237.