DescriptionWood tool box from the Kostelecky carriage making and repair business, Hoboken, no date, ca. 1900. Painted wood and fiberboard, metal fittings. 25" wide x 10-1/2" deep x 10" high.Weathered and worn. The fancy metal trunk corners, nameplate (blank) and other original hardware suggest that this box was once a carriage tool box with a late 19th century origin. It appears to have been intended for permanent exterior mounting on a carriage (see mounting brackets, hasp and paint line underneath; also note there were no handles, so it was not meant to be carried.) At some point, the original hinges and hasp were disconnected and the height was increased by adding 1-1/8" high hardwood strips to the top perimeter. The original top was then reattached with new hinges. Of the original box, the top, bottom and ends are wood; front and back are a ca. 1/2" fiberboard. A small early padlock from before the height extension is still attached. Painted over, it is probably a "Corbin" lock. From outlines in dried varnish in the inside bottom, the box once held wrenches. It may have possibly been adapted to hold tools for an early automobile (horseless carriage).