Antique Equitable Specials Boite Nature Cigar Box

Description

Crafted between 1915-1940, Antique Equitable Specials Boite Nature Cigar Box. Working Type IV clasp which were the most expensive of the four types of clasp.
This cigar box was found in an old barn, neglected for many years and still in pretty good shape considering.
Measures 9" long x 6 1/4" wide x 2 3/8" high
A Boite Nature [bow-waht  nah-tchoor] is a very specific type of cigar box that appeared for the first time around 1900, though the exact date the design originated is unknown. Called “BN” or “full BN” by the box trade, the name is French for ‘natural packing.’  The term was originally applied only to boxes made entirely of cedar, based on the long-held belief in the natural affinity of cedar for fine tobacco.  BN’s were made of Cuban, Honduran or Philippine mahogany, all of which bear a resemblance to cedar, and with a quick spray of cedar scent were passed off as such. A full BN box is entirely made of wood and has machine-cut interlocked corners. The trade calls them locked corners; boxes are said to have “lockwork.”  When describing cigar boxes, it is a common error of beginners to describe lockwork as “dovetailing.”  A dovetail is a hand-made furniture joint, triangular in shape which resembles the bird’s tail from which it got its name.  Locks are short, precise, machine-cut, and form highly regular corners. The bottom and corners of BN boxes are usually glued not nailed.  A BN box has “full hardware,” two hinges and a clasp.  Note that the hinges and clasp of a BN box do not overlap onto the top of the lid, but are entirely on the front and back of the box.  Hinges and clasps were nailed to the box until the 1930’s, when machine stapling of hinges and clasps became common. Cigars of every price range have been packed in BN’s but they were used primarily for 5¢ cigars. When nickel cigars were packed in a BN box smokers took it as a symbol of elegance but makers selected BN’s for cost efficiency. BN’s were used mostly for short run house brands and it was cheaper to make the brass or zinc printing dies than to print paper labels.