Post-Revolutionary War to Civil War
Washington and Lafayette Jugate Portrait Shaving Box
c. 1824 Lafayette's triumphant return Visit and Tour of America Era, George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette Wooden Lathe-turned Shaving Box featuring a Printed Decoupage Jugate Portrait on Top, Very Fine.
This circular box that measures 4.5" in diameter and 2.75" high, made in three layers that fit into each other. We've seen these called soap boxes, shaving boxes, and "sharing" boxes (perhaps a misspelling of "shaving"). These fine quality boxes were made by Ezra Wood of Buckland, MA. The cover has a decoupage piece of printed paper within wreathed images of George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, indicating that this was made for Lafayette's 1824 visit to America. We've seen three other examples (one is in the Buckland Historical Society) of this imprint but never on a three-tiered box. The original imprint was circular and surrounded by the printed names and figurative seals of the Thirteen original states; in this case, the seals have been cut off, giving a pleasing, scalloped look to the paper. The sides and top are smooth, being lightly shellacked coated for protection and appearance as made. A historic, fine quality display item.