Description: Rare Vintage Tramp Art Box With Stars, Hearts, and Spades. Early 20th Century Tramp Art Box With Stars, Hearts, Diamonds and Spades. This incredibly rare folk art tramp art box offers unusual layers of detail. The sides are created with fives graduated layers of chip carving, however the most striking detail is the carved hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds that adorn the boxes lid. The box is made of re-purposed old wood. The inside is crisp and clean. The lid is not hinged, and appears never to have been hinged, so it is a separate piece. It's quite hard to date tramp art, but one clue is the found object box used here is an old cigar box, when cigars cost 5 cents each (1900 -1930s) The box measures about 10" wide by 7 1/4" deep by 3 3/8" high. The inside dimensions are about 7 3/4" wide by by 5 1/8" deep by 2 1/2" high. The box is in overall good condition given its age. One heart appears to be missing from the outer edge. Tramp art was popular from roughly the 1870s through the 1940s. No one knows for sure how the practice got started, but the materials used to make it, especially wooden cigar boxes, had become standard around the 1850s. Cigar smoking was very popular at the time, and by law, the boxes couldn't be reused by cigar manufacturers, so there were plenty of them around. The people who made tramp art weren't trained artists. They taught themselves how to chip the wood and assemble objects. Some sources suggest that tramp art was made by itinerant workers and tradesmen, which means they traveled from place to place selling goods and services. But not all tramp art was made by wanderers or people without permanent homes. It took time and patience to assemble tramp art objects. Very good, vintage condition with wear consistent with age / use. This is a great primitive decorative tabletop or wall hanging object that that can fit any decorating style or beautifully accompanies a folk art collection.
Price: 400 USD
Location: Brooklyn, New York
End Time: 2024-08-28T23:06:38.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Pattern: Tooled
Shape: Star
Size: Small
Color: Brown
Material: Wood
Item Length: 10 in
Subject: Folk Art
Type: Boxes
Country/Region of Origin: Unknown
Era: Early 20th Century (1911-1940)
Item Height: 3.75 in
Style: Rustic/Primitive
Theme: Folk Art, Art
Features: Boxed, Carvings
Production Technique: Carved Wood
Room: Shop
Age: Unknown
Handmade: Yes
Engraved: Yes
Item Width: 7.25 in
