For Keeps

Wooly boxes on their way to a show.

 What would we do without boxes? Where would we put all of our treasures, supplies, and even food? Of all the items I collect, the box is my favorite. These long appreciated receptacles of life have found a very necessary and affectionate way into our hearts and homes.

     As I am not a historian I will not attempt to give my readers a date in history of the first box, but the Bible makes mention of the box in the Old Testament. There are some very ancient boxes that I have viewed in museums. However, the boxes I gather are of a different sort--more utilitarian in nature. These are mostly constructed of wood and date to the early 19th century. Everything from flour, cornmeal, spices, sugar, and tea to documents, artist's supplies, Bibles, sewing items, and candles was tucked away in them. I have large boxes for blankets and linens and tiny boxes for, well, I am not sure what some of them were for! They all are hand made, well-constructed, and beautiful. Their age is showing, but to me that makes them even more appealing.

Early Boxes possibly for documents.

In the end, who can have enough boxes? Where would we keep our mementos, articles we will some day read, cards from loved-ones, photos, jewelery, and on goes the list? I for one am always on the look-out for another wood, tin, or paper box. They hold a lot of possibilities within their spaces. And when I cannot recall what is in a box, it is an opportunity to rediscover, and I am rarely disappointed in what I find.

Early diminuative tin boxes

19th century meal bin 

Antique wallpaper-covered band boxes