Presentation Box
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Beatrice Fox
American, 1887 - 1968
Original OwnerPresented by the employees of
G. Fox and Co.
American, founded 1847
MakerMade by
Seaman Schepps
American, 1881 - 1972
Date7 July 1947
MediumLacquered wood box with hand wrought 14 karat gold hardware and decoration and Lucite liner
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x height x width): 6 x 2 5/8 x 4 3/4in. (15.2 x 6.7 x 12.1cm)
ClassificationsMetalware
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Schiro and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Koopman
DescriptionWooden box with a hinged lid lacquered in black with gold leaf and outlined in gold paint. An engraved 14K gold plaque is set into the center of the lid. The lid is hinged at the back and latches at the front with a gold latch in the shape of an oak leaf. The top of the box is decorated with nine hand wrought oak leaves and several acorns applied to the lower left corner of the lid and to the center right. The gold plaque inset into the box lid is engraved on the verso with the signatures of the thirteen executives who presented the box. A removable Lucite divider partitions the box into four rectangular sections.
Object number1980.73.2
MarkingsMarked on back of box in mother of pearl with two Japanese characters; marked on gold plaque inset in inside of lid "14 K / SEAMAN SCHEPPS".InscribedEngraved in the center of the gold plaque on the box lid is, "A TRIBUTE / ON THE OCCASION OF HER BIRTHDAY / TO / BEATRICE FOX AUERBACH / HEAD OF G. FOX AND COMPANY / IN ITS 100TH YEAR / FOR HER OUTSTANDING AND INSPIRING / LEADERSHIP, HER HIGH IDEALS AND / HER UNSWERVING DEVOTION TO THE / LOFTY PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES WHICH / HAVE BROUGHT G. FOX AND COMPANY TO THE / FOREFRONT OF AMERICA'S RETAIL INSTITUTIONS / FROM / THE EXECUTIVES OF THE COMPANY WHOSE ESTEEM / AND AFFECTION FOR HER IS BOUNDLESS / HARTFORD, CONN. JULY 7, 1947"; engraved on the borders of the plaque: "1947 / 1847 / QUI / TRANSTULIT / SUSTINET / 1847 - 1880 / GERSHON / FOX / 1880 - 1938 / MOSES FOX / 1938 BEATRICE / FOX / AUERBACH". The verso of the plaque is engraved with the signatures of the thirteen executives who gave the box to Beatrice Fox Auerbach. They are: " Maurice [H.] Berins / Richard Koopman / Victor H. Dowling / George Kyle / Samuel Einstein / Samuel Polman / Solomon Elsner / Harold Samuels / Joseph [Guillzer] / Bernard Schiro / Marshall Kashman / George Slokin / Llewelyn M. Stearns. "NotesMaker Note: Seaman Schepps (1881-1972) known as "America's Court Jeweler" was born on the Lower East Side in New York City, one of nine children of Hungarian immigrants. His name is said to have been inspired by the Seamen's Bank for Savings. At the turn of the century he went to California where he met and married the daughter of a prominent Illinois family. He opened an antiques and jewelry shop in Los Angeles in 1904 and spent time in San Francisco before returning to New York where he established several stores including the shop at 399 Madison Avenue which opened in 1933. Schepps highly-original, bold designs were prized by many mid-twentieth clients including Katharine Hepburn, Doris Duke, and the Duchess of Windsor, as well as members of the Du Pont, Mellon and Roosevelt families. Commissions from several White House families led THE WASHINGTON POST to dub him "America's Court Jeweler." (E. Blakelock, 11/2008)
Collections
- G. Fox & Co.
On View
Not on view
