Featured Help please: beautiful burnt wood box

What was a box like this used for? Someone wrote on the back that it was given to "Honor Strain in 1918", but I know not what for.

How were those burnt decorations made? With some kind of a metal stamp/press?

Is it valuable/rare?

 

https://www.woodburncorner.com/burnblog/a-brief-history-of-pyrography

 

As Roaring20s link indicates, "pyrography" is the term for this type of craft. Boxes of this type are usually described as glove boxes, but could have been used for other items as well.

Here are the results of a google search for "pyrography glove box", where you can see other examples -

https://www.google.com/search?sca_e...HQE3CmcQ0pQJegQIDxAB&biw=1418&bih=672&dpr=0.9

And here are examples of the types of tools used -

http://pyromuse.org/oldtools.html

 

Ah, she died in 1922 at the age of 24.

Debora

 

Interesting name. Looks like other people in her family had interesting names too.

 

Who did? Lois Harper?
Lotsa dates, some confusion...on my part, especially!

 

These were a hot craft item from the 1890s on up until the beginning of WWI more or less. Some were freehand, some stencil, and some printed right on the box. This one looks like the burn marks were done in a factory with someone else adding the color.

 

I had several pyrography kits in the late '40s, an' became quite deft at it. Wonder where they went? Sigh.

 

Out of style. Also people got scared of playing with fire.

 

I recall loving the aroma of the singed wood, an' as a child the thrill of being allowed to use an electric tool that got very hot was confidence-building. Dad was an aircraft engineer, Mom an RN...both were willing to risk an occasional burnt finger (there were a few). Them were the days!

 

I'd take the writing with a ball point pen.... & the @.....with a grain of salt...

 

It was added much later, but the date fits with the style of the decorations and the girl's hairstyle.

 

the @ is a C

 

Honor Strain Ferguson as she was known then.

Debora

 

I have written on the bottom of family items long after the owner died to help preserve the information for future generations. labels tend to get lost.

 

Too bad they wrote in ballpoint pen. My mother used to do that.

 

Not a huge fan of the ballpoint direct to the item, but in a way it is history that adds to the piece.

I dunno, I had a wood burning kit in the 90s. They were still selling them at the craft store in the aughts. May have them still, but I haven't been specifically hunting any.

 

You can still get them but now they are simply "wood-burning" kits.

https://www.michaels.com/search?q=wood burning

 

I saw that as well!

 

Thank you