Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Collapsible Wooden Box by the Day Collapsible Box, Company, Washington Grove, MD |
Date |
1914-1916 |
Collection |
Washington Grove Museum Object Collection |
Collector |
Unknown; donated to Washington Grove |
Artist |
Day Collapsible Box Co. |
Description |
This artifact was transferred to the Maryland State Archives on March 13, 2019 by Maria Day, Director, Special Collections. This artifact is a collapsible wooden box. It measures 12 1/2 " wide by 6 " deep by 9" high. Simply made of thin wood, the top and bottom each have two hinges and two hook latches, but they are reversed from each other. The sides each have full height hinges. On the left side appears THE DAY and on the back MANUFACTURED BY THE DAY COLLAPSIBLE BOX CO. WASHINGTON GROVE, MD. The company is referenced in The Project Gutenberg eBook titled "Every Step in Canning" written in1920 by Grace Viall Gray. It is included in the "List of Firms Furnishing Supplies for Canning, Drying, Preserving, etc." under "Parcel Post Egg Containers." The Biennial Report from Maryland State Tax Commission 1916 listed the company and its business. A notation from Philip K. Edwards (found in a Town archival drawer) dated June 22, 1993, re the box reads as follows: "A box manufactued on Railroad Street by the Day Collapsible Box Company of Washington Grove. The idea was that boxes could be carried full of eggs, produce, etc., to market, then folded to take up less space on the return trip. This would save on railroad fare or allow a wagon to return with manufactured city goods." An email from Phil Edwards to the archives received September 11, 2012 reads: "Please pass on to Patricia Patula that I am pretty sure I had good reason to believe that the Day Collapsible Box Company was located on the Oddfellows Hall lot (now 11 Brown Street) at the corner of Railraod and Hickory, before the Hall was built. The reason may be in my notes. The Washington D.C. Historical Society has business directories in its archives that tend to include busineess in outlying districts that were owned by D.C. residents." In Philip Edwards "History of Washington Grove, 1873-1937", Volume 1, Page 252, Edwards writes (referencing the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company) that . . . "Perhaps other private lines were put in, and in 1916, the trustees allowed a line to cross under Railroad Street to bring service to the Day Collapsible Box Company building on the Grove's old property yard." The Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes of January 6, 1916, states: The President submitted a communication from the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co., containing two requests: First, for authority to construct and maintain an underground conduit with wires and cable from the company's pole No. 4 on the east side of Railroad Ave. to the building being erected on the oppostie side of the road by the Day Collapsible Box Co. The box contains a lightweight paper egg carton. See OA.0002 |
Dimensions |
H-9 W-6 L-12.37 inches |
Provenance |
Town of Washington Grove Maryland State Archives as of March 13, 2019 |
Catalog Number |
OT.0001 |
Condition |
Fragile |