- Accepts Etsy gift cards
A lively and unusual vintage tramp art box finished in a bold tri-color palette of green, red, and yellow. The painted surface brings added personality to the hand-carved construction, highlighting the layered geometric patterns and giving the piece a strong folk-art presence. Measuring 10.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, its elongated form works well as a decorative tabletop object or practical storage box.
Tramp art was popular from roughly the 1870s through the 1940s. No one knows for sure how the practice got started, but the materials used to make it, especially wooden cigar boxes, had become standard around the 1850s. Cigar smoking was very popular at the time, and by law, the boxes couldn't be reused by cigar manufacturers, so there were plenty of them around. The people who made tramp art weren't trained artists. They taught themselves how to chip the wood and assemble objects. Some sources suggest that tramp art was made by itinerant workers and tradesmen, which means they traveled from place to place selling goods and services. But not all tramp art was made by wanderers or people without permanent homes. It took time and patience to assemble tramp art objects.
Very good, vintage condition with wear consistent with age / use.