Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
May 1, 1988
By Helen Fagg Mitchell
Vigo County Historical Society
Trinket boxes held Victorian dainties
The Victorian Era was a time of frills, ornate furniture, rich fabrics, and an abundance of small articles in the home.
Among the most attractive and popular small articles were little porcelain boxes called trinket or dresser boxes. They were placed on the many dressers, chests and small tables found in various rooms of the home. These dainty accessories often were gifts from one member of a family to another or were sent as a remembrance to a loved one.
Most trinket boxes were made of porcelain and were decorated with an abundance of gold trim. They were molded in many different shapes and were then trimmed with added pieces of porcelain in the figures of people, birds, animals and other objects. The tops, which had the adornments, were removable--revealing the storage space of the bottom half of the box.
The museum has a collection of six trinket boxes which all belonged to the same person. The two pictured here are from this collection.
The others include one with a young woman and a goose, two with the tops fashioned like a washstand with a water pitcher and bowl, and one with two small children and a toy. Touches of bright color were added to some of the boxes. The box with the ship atop probably was intended for use in a boy’s room, and the one with boy and dog peering into the mirror would have pleased the heart of almost any child.
Some of the boxes may never have been put to any practical use, but others may have contained pins, small pieces of jewelry, coins or other such treasures of childhood. Whether they were used or not, they were attractive and interesting additions to the rooms.
Many were made in the porcelain factories in the Staffordshire area of England. They may or may not be marked, but some may have an incised number. They usually have a high-gloss finish and a wide variety of adornments were made for such small pieces.
The trinket boxes in the museum are from the estate of Helen Condit, and were presented to the museum by Mr. and Mrs. Guy Stantz. They are displayed in their own corner cupboard along with many other miniature porcelain pieces.
Helen Condit was next to the youngest child of the Rev. Blackford and Sarah Miles Condit. Mrs. Condit was the daughter of Caleb Mills, and important figure in public education in the early days of Indiana. The house which originally held these articles is now owned by Indiana State University. Several other items belonging to the Condit family can be seen in the museum collections.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.