Not all boxes are bad. I got a Chinese puzzle box. My dad got one during WW2 in China. He gave it to me and told me how it was used. When I was three years into my (“Greetings your friends and neighbors have chosen you to serve in the US military” Draft notice August 1965) when I came home on leave and gave it to my then girl friend, I told her she had to open it. She struggled with it for over a half hour before I gave her some clues of how to open it. She was getting frustrated but I kept encouraging her to persist. Finally a panel slid opened. Then another one opened up or I should say slid out of the way. She kept it up on all sides of the box until a small drawer opened up that was concealed behind a even larger panel. The drawer had a small spring that made a funny noise as she tried to open it up, so she dropped it thinking it was a mouse trap to snap her finger. I ensured her it was not and she carefully open up the drawer. In the drawer was a lace hanky. When she opened it up her eyes got real big and a tear appeared. It was her engagement ring. The box was used in a similar way in china. When a man wants to get married he made a puzzle box for his girl. The harder and more crafty the box the better because it symbolizes how married life can be. Some hard times (the many obstacles that you have to overcome during marriage) some good times (the ring and marriage) but the final rewards are there if you stick it out. This Sunday July 5 2009 will be forty years with her as my wife. However I am still looking for those (“Greetings your friends and neighbors have chosen you to serve in the US military” Draft notice August 1965). I have not found them yet and I am still looking for them. Anybody know who they might be? BG William M. Greaves, President Architects iN Design www.architectsindesign.com [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] 757-496-6489 office 757-478-6489 cell. ----- Original Message ----- From: Barbara Hass To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 7/1/2009 1:01:43 PM Subject: Re: question regarding a trick box This has been a fun question to explore. The less nasty ones could be called gag trick boxes and are sold online using that term Just an idea on my part, could the others be called Pandora's? Idiomatic definition--- "...If you open a Pandora's box, something you do causes all sorts of trouble that you hadn't anticipated..." http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/pandora's+box.html Barbara Hass, retired librarian In a message dated 7/1/2009 8:37:12 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: In our collection we have a mean spirited trick box that I know full well exists in other places (I personally have a couple of my own, being mean spirited myself). Anyway, the information with this little box tells me it is apparently Civil War era, and also said (which may or may not be true) it was a prison craft. It is a tiny carved wooden box, about 2” x 2” shaped like a little book. Apparently in one’s mean-spirited-ness you were to hand this to an unsuspecting victim, who would pull back a slide lid, and a hidden arm with an attached spike would pop out and stab the poor soul but good. This box is particularly nasty. Mine are not so much – I have an old domino box with a hidden snake and a newly made box with a mouse. Both have the spikes but are not nearly as sharp as the book box. I have seen these in other private collections of equally unpleasant people who wish to do a little bodily harm to their friends. So…my question is this…what are these boxes called? Anybody know of any other information? Candace Perry Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). It's raining cats and dogs -- Come to PawNation, a place where pets rule! ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).