BORAX BOX

No detailed provenance known. Box was found in shed when new owners moved into house in Victoria Park. Box was used as a shelf. Box is thought to be pre-1942. Twenty Mule Team brand has been around since late 19th C and was still available in the 1970s. This brand of borax (Hydrated Sodium Borate) comes from Death Valley in California. Borax has multiple uses such as laundry cleanser, antiseptic, smelting and foundry alloying flux and mining recovery processes. This box could have come from any one of these sources and then been re-used as was common in the era of good strong wooden boxes. The sides of the box are printed in black ink, depicting a scene of ten pairs of mules pull -ing a freight waggon. Above the scene is marked "Registered Trade Mark", below scene is "TWENTY MULE TEAM BRAND". The ends are marked respectively, "Keep Dry / & Lid Tight"and"1852 / Gross 128 Lbs / Nett 112 Lbs". The letters "OC T"are written in black (tar?) paint on one side of the box, partly covering the Mule Team brand. The box is lined with zinc-plated tin to keep the borax dry.

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History Collection

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