Object of the Month

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site has a large museum collection consisting of thousands of objects, many of which are not regularly displayed in the house's furnished exhibit rooms. Every month, an object will be featured on this page, providing a look at an unusual piece from the collection.

 

A luxury rosewood box with a concealed compartment, made by Alphonse Giroux, c. 1830s.

NPS

This month’s object is a luxury box with a hidden compartment. Made of rosewood with satinwood inlay, decorative stringing, and oak bottoms, the box was a high-end item made for an exclusive clientele.

The manufacturer of the box is revealed by an inscription on the top of the lock case, shown in an enlarged image above. It is engraved “Alph. Giroux a Paris.” François-Simon-Alphonse Giroux, who died in 1848, was known for many things, including being a supplier of goods to the French royal family, the official restorer of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and the owner of the firm who constructed cameras for pioneering photographer Louis Daguerre. In 1799 Giroux also established a highly regarded store in Paris known for selling luxury goods, such as this box. He passed the business on to his sons in 1838, after which the name was changed to Alph. Giroux & Cie. (& Co.) Because of the inscription on the lock case, we can deduce that this box was made no later than 1838.

Based on the high quality of the box, and a cost that surely matched, it seems unlikely that Henry Longfellow would have purchased it while he was in Paris in 1836. As an aspiring Harvard professor who had not yet achieved fame and fortune, he was travelling on a budget. But someone else in Europe at the same time possessed more than enough money to shop at Giroux’s store, and that was Henry’s future wife, Fanny Appleton. In fact, we know that Fanny shopped at Giroux on at least two occasions during her family's Grand Tour of Europe, on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, 1835, upon which day she wrote in her journal “Giroux was brilliant – crowded & a kaleidoscope for variety as usual.” Her family’s wealth and her journal entries from the trip chronicling her shopping activities make it possible that she was the owner of this box.

There is a pin on the top of one of the box’s sides, and the box’s interior is suspiciously shallow. That’s because this piece has a concealed drawer. If the pin is pulled up, the concealed drawer can then slide out of the bottom of the box’s side. With the pin in place and the lid locked, the drawer cannot be opened. Just the right sort of place to hide money, jewelry, or personal papers that the owner wouldn’t want other eyes to see!

 

View past Objects of the Month.