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CIVIL WAR ERA GUTTA PERCHA U.S.
NAVY SHAVING SOAP CASE – VERY NICE SPECIMEN WITH
ORIGINAL MIRROR INTACT:
This decorative gutta percha case was made for U.S. Navy
sailors in the mid-19TH Century, likely
produced in the vigorous market which accompanied the
onset of the Civil War.
This two piece case featured a friction
fit lid with a mirror on the interior and a bottom
section intended to hold a cake of shaving soap. The
lid has a copper wire loop so that the lid could be hung
from a bulkhead in the sailor’s quarters while he
shaved. Apparently popular with the Civil War sailors,
these cases are featured in Lord’s Civil War Collector’s
Encyclopedia, Volume 1, on pages 261 and 263.
This case is made of gutta-percha, a natural latex
discovered in the mid-19TH Century that was
made from the sap of a species of the
Palaquium tree - known in Malaysia as “getah
perca”, hence the name – which is native to the
South Pacific region. Gutta-percha had
gained popular use by the time of the Civil War and
today is most often encountered as the material used to
make image cases, pistol grips, and small personal
items. Having much the same properties as modern
synthetic plastics, gutta-percha would be a natural
choice for items such as this case which were intended
to be used at sea as the material would not warp when
exposed to the continuously wet environment aboard
ship.
The lid is molded with a sunburst motif
surrounding a seal that features a fouled anchor
surmounted by the letters “U.S.N.” and thirteen five
pointed stars, arranged on a stippled background. The
border of the seal bears the legend “DON’T GIVE UP THE
SHIP”, the famous admonition delivered by Captain James
Lawrence after he fell mortally wounded on the deck of
the U.S.S. Chesapeake during an engagement with the
British frigate Shannon off Boston Harbor on June 1,
1813. Below the legend is a twisted rope cable.
The lid retains the original mirror, a
notable feature as it seems the majority of these cases
that survive are missing the mirror. On the rim which
secures the mirror in the interior of the lid bears the
maker and patent information – “MANUFACTURED BY THE
NOVELTY RUBBER CO. – NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY – UNDER
GOODYEAR’S PATENT – MAY 6, 1851”.
There are specimens of these cases which
feature a different design on the lid. Rather than
“DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP”, instead they have the maker
and patent information - “NOVELTY RUBBER CO., NEW YORK –
GOODYEAR PATENT 1849-1851” - on the banner surrounding
the fouled anchor motif.
The Novelty Rubber Company was founded
in by Nicholas Williamson in 1853 in Beacon Falls,
Connecticut, who moved the company to New Brunswick, New
Jersey in 1855. Eventually, prior to the company
closing in 1886, Williamson moved the company to New
York City. The company manufactured a number of gutta
percha items under the Goodyear patent which expired in
1872. From what I have been able to determine, the
company’s move to New York appears to have occurred
later in, or after, the Civil War. The New Brunswick
address and the inclusion of the patent credit on this
case certainly dates this case to before the expiration
of the patent, and probably before or early in the Civil
War.
Measuring 3 ¼” in diameter and 1 ½”
high, this case features a smooth rich brown finish.
The only sign of wear is a chip out of the rim of the
lid which can be seen in the photographs below. The
silvered backing of the mirror has experienced some
foxing from age, but the majority of the finish still
remains intact.
This case presents in very nice
condition and it shows just enough wear to imagine it
being carried in the sea bag of an “Old Tar” as he
circumvented the globe in the days of sail, and as the
steam powered ships began to make their appearance on
the waves. (0201) $250
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