A few weeks ago, I spotted a battered Wheary Trunk Company steamer trunk at Parker's Goodwill a few weeks ago for $40.

• It measures 41 inches by 26 inches by 22 inches.

Driving the news: I bought it.

👀 Four people watched jealously as I loaded it onto a cart and rolled it out.

• Suckas!

The intrigue: The trunk appears to date back pre-World War II — and the words "W.A. Gawler" and "Washington, D.C." printed across the top might offer major clues.

• Could it be connected to Joseph Gawler's Sons, LLC — one the nation's best-known funeral homes?
• The company embalmed President John F. Kennedy — and provided services following the deaths of presidents William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

🪦 A 1932 newspaper ad I found lists William A. Gawler and Walter A. Gawler as two of the funeral home's principals.

State of play: The trunk now lives in my family room.

• My wife likes it.
• My daughter hates it.
• My mom hates it.
• My mother-in-law doubts me.

The bottom line: Did I find a piece of funeral history — or did I pay $40 for a broken box?

📧 Whaddya think?