Snuff box in book form, inscribed "J. B. F."

Case constructed from horn, with brass rivets for all joins. The cover and sides each consist of a single sheet of thick horn bent into U-shapes. The lid is mounted with a section of steel piano hinge that is concealed by placing it in a saw kerf along its back edge. A strip of bent sheet brass covers all three sides and is also riveted in place, as is a small decorative shield at the bottom edge of the lid. The front cover has a striped pattern and a hinged lid with corner and central cartouche inscribed with "J. B.F.". The back cover has a corner and central star pattern outlined in a double band with diagonal lines. The scrimshaw designs are enhanced with two colors of stain, now reading as gray and rust brown tones. Instead of black, the more heavily inscribed lines on the front and back seem to have been filled with a red compound. The spine is decorated with five rows of large dots using gray dye.. -- description by Mindell Dubansky in consultation with Lynn Heckman