Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Snuffbox with Tomb of George Washington
1860
Charles Parker
USA: Connecticut, Meriden
Brass, silver, metal
overall: 5/8"h x 3-1/4"w x 2-1/4"d
Gift of Dr. William L. and Mary B. Guyton Collection
86.62.54

Oval snuffbox with hinged lid; top shows image of the tomb of George Washington with woman and child standing in front of gates which read "TOMB/ OF/ WASHINGTON"; front of snuffbox inscribed "PATD JAN 24 1860/ C. PARKER".

Before his death in 1799, George Washington specified that a brick tomb for be built himself and his wife at their home, Mount Vernon. In 1831 family members moved the Washingtons’ remains there. Decades later, manufacturer Charles Parker filed a patent for snuff box design. He decorated his boxes with different scenes, including this one of Washington’s tomb. Many Americans visited the president’s home throughout the 1800s and, in 1859, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association took ownership and responsibility for its preservation.