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‘Tis a Gift

to Be Simple

Put your hands to work, and your hearts to God. – Mother Ann Lee

Shaker Craftsmanship: Boxes

entwood boxes are generally made using a forms that were cut into the overlapping section and then tacked with
single plank of wood molded to a set struc- copper rivets – the only non-wood pieces used by some to secure the
Bture by applying moisture/steam/water and shape. No glue was used. Simply joining the two ends of the bent wood
such as a square box. The wood is joined to itself in a straight line did not allow for the wood to adjust during different
to create a seemless storage container that is then times of year. The curved cuts into the wood where it joined allowed
attached to a base – perfect for storing dry goods the wood to flex naturally within the changing environment without
or anything that needs to be protected or sorted. causing cracks or leaks.
On the West Coast of North America, the The boxes were traditionally finished with milk paint made from
people of the First Nations perfected a square bent- milk casein, and tinted with earth pigments. Milk paint is incredibly
wood box used to store many precious goods from holy items to seeds durable, lasting hundreds of years when used indoors. While most
and corn. A kerf-bent wooden box is an innovative example of a wood- Shaker villages used bright colors, there were a few that did not use any.
working technology developed by the people across many years of prac-
tice. This box consists of two planks of cedar. One plank is deeply Mass Production
kerfed in three places and then molded using controlled steam to bend
it at a right angles to form four sides. The other plank forms the flat The production of boxes to sell to the outside world started in the late
bottom, rabbeted all around and then joined with the square plank. 1700s. By the mid-1800s, sizes were standardized and ranged from about
The last corner is sewn or pegged together to complete the box, result- two inches to well over a foot. Shakers began to make many in nested sets,
ing in a container that could hold water. but how many sizes? The range numbered up to eleven, but were stan-
Meanwhile on the East Coast, storage boxes, sometimes referred to dardized in the mid-1880s when the two largest and two smallest were
as “pantry boxes,” were being constructed in much the same manner to pulled from a “set” and the nesting set question was settled at seven boxes.
store dry goods for the pantry, sewing room notions, and for anything The idea of buying a
that needed to be carefully stored. Thought to have been introduced to complete set of seven or eight
the U.S. from England in the 1770s, these boxes were perfected by the graduated size boxes was a
Shaker craftsmen. luxury that was out of reach for
most 19th century households,
Structure as individual sizes cost about a
full day’s pay and the larger ones
When refining the design and function of round boxes attained by even more. Looking to become
the Shakers to use for storage, decisions were made regarding shape, more cost effective, Mount
variety of sizes, and how to improve this “mousetrap” so it was able to Lebanon village built a new woodworking shop in 1829 where machinery
be strong, lightweight, and have a perfect fit from the cover to the base. was operated by a twenty-six-foot diameter waterwheel. In 1830, the
Keeping out insects, rodents, and other environmental hazards from Shakers were producing about 1,300 boxes per year, and just six years
stored foodstuffs and raw materials was a need that was met thanks to later the number increased to 3,650. Tin and glass containers came into
the attentive efforts made by the makers. the mainstream at this point, but the Mount Lebanon facilities updated
The rounded part of the box is called the “rim” and the top and machinery and, in all, about 77,000 boxes were made between 1822 and
bottom pieces are called the “heading.” These would be applied to the 1865. After the Civil War, production dropped significantly and they
rim once it had completely dried after being steamed and bent around were then sold to be used for more decorative purposes.
a form called a “follower.”
The choice to use an
elongated oval shape was Varieties
simple – the Shakers felt it Most of the boxes were made by the Shaker religious leaders / the
was conducive to storing male Elders. They used templates to ensure the sizes and structure
many different things in remained the same. However, because many Shakers visited other
different ways. villages to share news and talk shop, the basic structure of the boxes
They did focus on what stayed the same but variations in materials and details did occur.
they considered a design Many of the oval boxes used by the Shakers are inscribed with
flaw where the wood on the the names of those users as well as names of the makers, dates, and
rim overlapped and joined. descriptions of how they were used. All of these attributes make these
This led to the invention of boxes particularly interesting to collectors and particularly useful to the
the “swallowtail” or “finger” Shaker Museum in telling Shaker stories.

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