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Probably if one has contemplated hat boxes or bandboxes at all, he has simply thought of them as repositories for hats and dismissed them as of no importance—expendable trifles that today come with expensive hats at no extra charge.

We tend to remember bandboxes as feminine adjuncts in which the ladies stored their fine bonnets. Originally, the bandbox was used by both men and women to store and carry about the elaborate starched ruffs we see in old portraits.

Ladies used the boxes not only for their bonnets, but as portable storage compartments for ribbons, artificial flowers, and hair pieces, dresses, jewelry and the thousand and one bagatelles so dear to the feminine heart. Bandboxes in their progressive sizes were the forerunners of the nested or self-storing luggage considered so new, smart and modern today.

The period of greatest popularity of the bandbox was the second quarter of the 19^th century. Unfamiliar forms of transportation—the steamboat, canal boat and railroad train—were being promoted all over the country. This period also coincided with an interesting variety of new conditions in our country’s economic development.

The first circumstance was the acceptance of a female labor force in the factories. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin erased all past concepts regarding the amount of available raw cotton separated from seeds and ready for spinning into textiles. Because of mechanical improvements to the spinning frames and jennies themselves, the amount of finished cloth turned out was also greatly increased. Finally, brute force was no longer necessary to run the looms because of the addition of steam and water power. Now jobs formerly held by strong men could be performed by slim young girls, and this untapped pool of labor supplied the mills that mushroomed overnight. Girls from all over New England swarmed to the textile centers and with part of their wages purchased pretty, stylish clothes. Storage containers were needed to protect these new wardrobes, and bandboxes were required for their frequent trips home. Bandboxes were luxuries every girl could afford. Multiple boxes were purchased, and girls collected boxes in various sizes just as today they try to amass sets of matched luggage.

Another section of our population was also ready for travel at this time. With the wars over and money jingling in their pockets, hard-working middle-class Americans decided it was time to get "culture" and pay homage to the historical shrines. First class hotels sprang up. Here almost everyone could live like a king and almost everyone could afford a short holiday or make an excuse to go to the "city" on business.

Thus, the need for bandboxes is attested to. It seems strange, however, that such a slight fragile trifle as a paper-covered pasteboard box would have lasted all these decades. Over the years, many have been destroyed, but where there was space in an attic or other undisturbed place, the box still served a useful purpose as a storage container, and so was protected and preserved.

Hannah Davis

1787-1863

Anyone collecting hat boxes hopes to have a chance to acquire at least one of the Hannah Davis bandboxes. The boxes were all lined with newspapers. Hannah made bargains with her friends and neighbors, and in payment for the papers they saved up for her, she allowed them to choose bandboxes from her finished products. The same barter system was used in collecting the paper which covered the outside of her boxes. Many of these are covered in a regular repeating floral pattern of hand-blocked wallpaper.

At first Hannah tried to dispose of her stock by trading the boxes for her simple needs. Later on she began selling them to the local merchants, but this market soon became glutted. Her best customers, she had found, were the young women and teen-age girls who had by 1825-30 begun working in the enormous textile factories. Although it was not possible for the girls to come to Jaffery, New Hampshire where Hannah was living, she decided to take the boxes directly to her most lucrative market. The fact that she had no horse of her own was but a small problem, for she discovered she could rent a gentle beast from one of the neighbors. In winter she hitched him to a sleigh, and in the summer to her large wagon with its white schooner canopy on top. This she piled high with her gay and fresh, bright-colored merchandise and set off. During the factory lunch hour she parked the vehicle outside the gates and soon it was swarming with young girls eager to purchase a brand-new bandbox.

When the factory girls left the mill towns for their visits back home they took with them the latest city fashions, and they have been pictured "riding on the tops of the old stage-coaches in their trips to and from their homes with Hannah’s Bandboxes around them like satellites around a sun."

Hannah Davis died in November 1863, and so vividly was she remembered in her community that 30 years later, a group of young girls, the "Gold Gatherers," members of a mission band, installed a church window "In Memory of Aunt Hannah Davis."

 Hannah's Treasures

Today, artist and box maker Marilyn Krehbiel has revived Hannah Davis' art of bandboxes with her business, Hannah’s Treasures. Her passion for vintage wallpapers drew Marilyn into the cottage industry of bandboxes.  She had seen antique bandboxes in books and magazines and made some for herself and for her friends. The response to this "new" product was overwhelming. What began as a cottage industry out of her home in 1992 has become a thriving business in Harlan, IA.

In 1994, Marilyn officially opened her business to both the wholesale and retail trade, but up until this point no official name had been chosen for the venture.

Marilyn and her husband Brian had welcomed their daughter Hannah into the world in 1991, although Marilyn had not yet discovered Hannah Davis' famous bandboxes. This happy coincidence motivated Marilyn to name her business Hannah's Treasures. It is her hope that her industry honors not only her daughter but also the work that Hannah Davis did over 150 years ago.

In April 2002, the Krehbiel family was blessed with their newest addition, a baby girl named Emma.  Since the birth of their second child, Marilyn has closed the retail store.   Hannah's Treasures bandboxes may be purchased on the website.

When Marilyn began collecting vintage wallpaper to use on bandboxes, she never dreamed that her collection would grow to be so enormous.  The Vintage Wallpaper For Sale pages on the website have expanded to a total of twelve pages, including vintage wallpaper borders.  This has proven to be a smart move for the company as the enthusiasm for decorating with authentic vintage wallpaper to grown worldwide.