Description:
Round and flat black papier mache snuffbox with a portrait-length bust of Daniel Webster (1782-1852), lawyer, orator, statesman, and his era's champion of American nationalism, on the lid with the inscription "DANIEL WEBSTER" around his face; the box is rabbeted to fit the lid. There was a small piece of paper in the snuffbox that is inscribed in pencil: "This snuffbox/ belonged to/ Mellinda/(Walker)/Bracket/ Her daughter/ Fannie Wilder/ owned it at/ Aunt Edna's/ Mrs Thayers". The donor had acquired the snuffbox in the 1920's from a family in Franklin, NH, near Webster's birthplace (Webster was born in the section of Salisbury that is now incorporated as Franklin). The snuff box was an emblem of political allegiance for its owner; pre-1850 political memorabilia is relatively rare.

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+91.017

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.