This little wooden box might not seem like anything special unless you know its history. The box has beautiful wood inlay, painstakingly hand made of various woods; trimmed, inlaid and varnished with care. This box was made by someone who was a carpenter by trade, but cabinetry was his forte.
Kim's great-great grandfather, Alexander Nephi Stephens, made this little box for his wife, Amina, while he was serving a sentence for polygamy in Boise. A.N. spent several days during the months of January and February 1888 making several boxes and picture frames in the woodshop of the prison. Conditions there were pretty cruel. Their cell had a window opening high in the cell that was open to the weather. A.N.'s journal records temps as cold as -30 degrees below zero. The "facilities" consisted of a bucket and the food wasn't exactly what we would consider to be gourmet.
The boxes and frames were made as gifts but I'm sure that their construction helped pass the time and gave A.N. something to look forward to.
Beautiful description of Alexander's craftmanship and toleration of the deplorable conditions under which he made this and endured for the sake of his beliefs and family.
ReplyDeleteEric & Jennifer Emfield