William K. Eby

Item Name	Spruce Gum Box	Image1
Other Owner(s)	Nil
Category	Artifacts
Year	Early: 1875 - Late: 1925
Description	A hand-carved spruce wood box fashioned in the shape of a book with sliding lids top and bottom. It has relief and chip carving. The spine has star motifs and stripes. The covers have large star motifs and a double border of small triangles. The carved decoration is painted in red, green and black.
Collection	Joseph Schneider Haus Museum Contact : 466 Queen St. S. Kitchener 519-742-7752 www.region.waterloo.on.ca
Accession No.	1984.028.276.001-.003
Curatorial Comments	A particularly interesting practice among Maritimers was that of making small "gum boxes." Usually made of spruce wood, they were used to carry balls of resin which were rolled into shape for chewing. In most cases, these small boxes were fashioned in the shape of books with sliding lids on the top. In Germanic settlements such gum boxes were frequently decorated with distinctive motifs: hearts, trees, compass stars, and diamonds. The techniques of decoration vary from chip carving and relief carving to painting.

Fraktur design based on Family Register by Jacob Shoemacher in Joseph Schneider Bible, 1821.