Bandbox, 1820-1840
THF190589 / Bandbox, 1820-1840
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Artifact Overview
In the early 1800s, Americans used bandboxes to store clothing, accessories, and other small items. Bandboxes were handy containers in the home or when traveling by stage, boat, or rail. Manufacturers covered these inexpensive pasteboard or wooden boxes with colorful papers. The lid for this box contains the inscription, "Shaffers Money," perhaps indicating what the box held.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Bandbox (Container)
Date Made
1820-1840
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
2022.34.2
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Cardboard
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Hand sewing
Color
Multicolored
Dimensions
Height: 2.75 in
Diameter: 2.875 in
Inscriptions
written on inside top of lid:
Shaffers / Money
Keywords |
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Related Content
SetBandboxes
- 12 Artifacts
In the early 1800s, bandboxes stored clothing, hats, accessories, and other small items for a growing number of American travelers. Box makers covered their products with swatches of colorful wallpaper or papers with vivid images and scenes specifically made to decorate the outside of the box. Bandboxes were affordable and expressed the traveler's taste. Today, we appreciate them as markers of travel, style, and the lives of early Americans.