Trinket Box
date: label: date made
content: before 1945
notes: label: Description
content: Small, polychrome- and gilt-decorated box in the shape of a red leather-bound, hardcover book. Painted with a pineapple, two peaches and three blue daisies against a gilt oval on the front cover and imitation gilt-stamped decoration on the spine bands and backcover; gilt textblock or page edges. Front cover opens on two hinges and has an interior clasp to secure shut. Interior tinned. No marks.
label: Description
content: This box was made by Esther Stevens Brazer (1898-1945), an author, collector, researcher, scholar, and teacher of Early American Decoration; she was also a direct descendent of tinsmith Zachariah Stevens of Stevens Plains (now part of Portland), ME.
label: Description
content: Small book boxes such as this are unique to the tinshops of Stevens Plains (including the Stevens and Buckley Tinshops). Their purpose is not entirely clear. Some scholars suggest they might have been used as match holders as well as been given as gifts; many, but not all, have an initial on the back cover, probably that of the owner or recipient.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: United States, Northeastern
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. John H. Murray
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1977.1227.05
label: accession number
content: 1977.1227
label: catalog number
content: 1977.1227.05
objectType: label: Object Name
content: box
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: iron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: tinned sheet iron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (exterior decoration material)
label: Physical Description
content: gold (exterior decoration material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 in x 3 5/8 in x 3 in; 2.54 cm x 9.2075 cm x 7.62 cm