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Snuffbox with Masonic Symbols
ca. 1830
Maker not marked
USA
Brass
overall: 3-1/4"h x 2-1/4"w x 3/4"d
Special Acquisitions Fund
80.65.1

Brass snuffbox with Masonic symbols on lid including arch, sun, moon, stars, Bible, square and compasses, plumb and level, and mosaic flooring. Marked on back with initials, "J.B." A scratched inscription is also visible on back, "John Burnside...[illegible]...30th 1835."


An owner’s name, John Burnside, is incised on the back of this snuffbox. On the front, an engraver delineated important symbols related to Freemasonry. Each time the owner reached for and used this object, the emblems on the box may have reminded him of the lessons he learned in the lodge.