Spruce-Wood, Book-Shaped Box. [Prisoner Art].

Descripción

A hand-crafted, book-shaped box for storing small items. Size: 8 1/2" x 10" x 3 3/4" (thick), constructed of 1/4" thick, spruce wood "covers" (or top and bottom, since the box is meant to lay flat, but can also be stored on its bottom edges just like a book), and 3/4" thick spruce sides, to form the box edges which have been hand-grooved to give the appearance of the book's page-edges. The covers have been sanded and edges and corners rounded, and then finished with orange shellac. The front cover (the top of the box) is attached by two (1") thin brass hinges with matching screws. The spine (which shows a fine knot), is decorated with a series of two double bands, produced by burning the outlines of the bands into the wood, and then filling the space within the bands with white paint. The back cover shows a section of partly-rough branch knotting. The interior of the book-box is divided by another 3/4" piece of spruce into two storage sections: 2 1/4" x 7 1/8" + 3 1/2" x 7 1/8", these have been lined with a thin red felt; a brass, round-headed nail & small chain are attached to the lower left-hand edge of the inner cover, though the hook that this would have fit (to keep the cover from falling backwards), is missing. Some light scratches to the bottom cover of box, and a few small, natural imperfections to this soft wood, on bottom, and inner cover. Overall, a well-preserved example of a handmade piece. Said to have been made by a prisoner in a prison in Maine in the 1940's or '50's, but we have no information whether this was a unique production (it looks that way), or part of a larger "edition" made for sale. Scan shows the spine & part of the front cover (top of the box). Weight: 3 lbs. N° de ref. del artículo ABE-246074504

Contactar al vendedor

Denunciar este artículo

Detalles bibliográficos