American Twenty – Six Hole Cartridge Box Circa 1790-1810

This box has a 9 ¼ inch wide flap that hangs down about 7 ¾ inches from the top
most point of the flap when closed and about 1 ¾ inches below the lower edge of the
body of the box. The flap shows signs of tooled designs composed of inner and outer
border lines forming a central panel and curved lines snaking along between the
border lines along the edges. The side panels have tombstone tops and show
decorative interweaving lines of stitching. The block is bored for 26 cartridges of .69
caliber. Two holes along the front show slight chipping at the edge between them.
There is no inner flap. The front of the box body has a flat piece of leather sewn to it
to form a pouch for flints or tools. It bears a simple “X” design and does not seem to
give access to a lower compartment. The box is set up for a shoulder belt. The
horizontal retaining strap is place on the upper rear of the box. One of the flat iron
sling buckles is in place on the bottom of the box. The other has been tucked in the
front pocket of the pouch. The leather rates very good. The flap is flexible. The
dominant color is a deep brown mixed with black. The surface has lost much of its
thin finish and rest in finely crazed but adhering well. The box has not had any
preservative or dressing applied. There is one very small tear to the upper back
edge of the flap on one side where it meets the body of the box on the rear. There is
no sign of a latch tab or fastening button.
This is a very nice early American cartridge box probably dating 1790-1810.