Box, Document

Object Name:

Box, Document

Object ID:

1982.083

Date:

circa 1850

Description:

Box, rectangular, wooden. Owned by John Parker Hale (1806-1873). Coated cloth cover of very fine, pebbled-grain pattern with black finish. Slightly incised, decorative lines parallel to edges to create borders on top and sides. Large "X" divides top into four triangles on top. Incised lines may have some texture to them to roughly simulate stitches. Covering glued to wood structure of box, only on outside. Box sides 0.4" thick. Significant wear along edges and corners. Single furniture pull in middle of top with pivoting handle. All hardware brass. Two round-turned brass pivot pins and two round brass escutcheon plates. Outside distance of pivot pins 3.5". Embossed label on top adjacent to handle, 2.8" long x 0.56" wide; "MR. HALE." in gold. Decorative brass keyhole escutcheon on front of box near top of lower section, 1.5" long x 0.87" high with deeply stamped design of flowers and small round fruit. Held in place by two copper alloy tacks. Exposed lock plate top surface is brass. Paper over lock mechanism on inside of box. Some iron in lock due to rust stains visible in covering paper. Iron key for lock. Two brass hinges at back of box on mating surfaces with flathead iron screws holding them in place. Hinges 1.25" long. Distance between inside hinge edges, 8.6". Hasp portion of lock mechanism is brass with iron screws. Two hollow tabs that fit into lock mechanism. Two brass threaded sections with round brass nuts on inside of lid. Short, wooden lip on inside of top edge on bottom section. Lip fastened to inside of box. Outside cover material extends across mating surfaces of top box, box lid, and bottom sections; it ends at top edge of applied lip on bottom; it extends down inside surface a short distance on lid. Interior of box coated with light-colored paper with green-dot design printed on it. Dots ~0.1" diameter, with repeat of 0.3" on center; in diamond formation; in middle of each diamond, another small green dot. Plain paper extends close to edge on bottom outside surface of box. Covers extended edges, wrapped around bottom edge of box.

Material:

Wood
Textile
Brass
Copper
Iron

Dimensions:

H-4.4 W-15.1 D-9.3 inches Weight-35.55 oz

Provenance:

Used by John Parker Hale (1806-1873) in N.H. legislature or U.S. Senate.

Credit Line:

Gift of Donald and Edith Dashnau

People:

Hale, John Parker (1806-1873)

Subjects:

Boxes