Military hatbox 1864 - 1880

This military hatbox was made by Bent & Bush, and is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This hatbox is made from simple materials – pasteboard covered in paper, with linen tape ties. It's patently not high art, but rather utilitarian design, albeit with a whiff of militaristic style. The box is made by layering paper and glue. Once dry, it would have been cut and folded into shape. Paper is a very unassuming thing, but it can be very strong when layered. Think about papier-mâché, which uses a similar technique. Boxes like this were used for storage, or to transport belongings. Given the number that survive, we know they were made in great quantities. The hatbox's ubiquity suggests a great deal of work to produce this object, with questions about production rates and fair wages coming to mind. Thinking about the history of making challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft. We can understand an object like this Military Hatbox in a new way.