Match box and matches (Box)

Description

Benjamin Kelsey (1796–1876) of East Haddam, Connecticut, likely made this narrow, vertical container. The box is assembled from pieces of rolled sheet metal with the edges folded or lap-jointed and lead soldered. The front of the box is stamped “B KELSEY/ ATALANTA 1819.” The letters and numbers were each struck with a separate die (as opposed to a full-name die). Before transitioning to a professional blacksmith, Kelsey worked as a shipwright. A sloop named Atalanta was built in East Haddam, Connecticut 1815. Kelsey may have fashioned the box about 1819 from scraps of the sheet copper used in Atalanta’s hull. The purpose of this box remains unknown, however at the time of its acquisition it held matches.