Library Exhibit, November 2021: Boxes and What They Hold
The JHS library exhibit for November displays a collection of boxes designed for many different uses.
A tiny round ceramic snuff box used in the 19th century contained powdered tobacco. A pinch sniffed from the back of the hand would give an instant nicotine rush. A trinket box designed to look like a book held visiting cards. In the days before the telephone, a visitor would leave a card with their name if no one was home or enclose the card with an invitation. The long hair and elaborate hairdos of the period required hairpin boxes and hair receivers, often part of a ceramic dresser set.
More mundane boxes included in the exhibit are a pill box from Hunt’s Drug Store and a monogramed silver stamp box that belonged to Dr. William Lincoln Bates.
The exhibit will remain on display in the Jamestown Philomenian Library foyer until the beginning of December.
Visit the library to see the entire exhibit and please consider donating your Jamestown memorabilia to Jamestown Historical Society, contact info@jhsri.org.
