{"product_id":"griffin-shinemaster-oak-shoe-shine-box-with-original-lithographed-label-and-fitted-foot-rest-c-1925-1950","title":"Griffin ShineMaster Oak Shoe Shine Box with Original Lithographed Label and Fitted Foot Rest, c. 1925–1950","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small oak chest built for one job and built properly. The corners are joined with box joints — interlocking square fingers cut through the full thickness of the wood and visible on all four corners, which is a real joint rather than a nailed butt. The grain is open and figured, the colour a warm honey, and the whole thing sits on shaped feet cut from the sides with an arched opening between them so it stands clear of the floor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn top, a wooden foot rest is fixed to the lid: a rising curve with a raised toe stop at the front, shaped so a shoe seats into it and stays put while you work. The lid is hinged at the back in brass and lifts to a fitted interior for polish tins, daubers, and brushes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet into the front is the original paper label — a green ground with a griffin in profile and GRIFFIN over SHINEMASTER in serif capitals. Above and below it, two shallow finger recesses are cut into the front, one for the lid and one for the body.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGriffin was founded in Brooklyn in 1890 by Tony Aste, a horse racing enthusiast who noticed how badly the men at the track wanted their shoes shined and built a company on it. By the firm's own account, Aste invented both liquid shine and the shoe shine box itself, and Griffin went on to become one of the dominant American shoe care names. The griffin on this label is the company's own device, and it is still trading today as Griffin Brands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat the box represents is a period when a man's shoes were expected to be maintained rather than replaced. The angled foot rest is the whole argument: it exists so that shining a shoe could be done sitting down, at home, with the shoe on the foot, in the ten minutes before leaving the house. Everything needed lived inside the box, and the box lived by the door or in the closet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe construction dates it, and it dates it early. Solid quartersawn oak rather than pine or plywood; through box joints on all four corners; shaped bracket feet cut with an arched apron; brass hinges; and a separately lithographed paper label applied to the wood rather than a graphic printed straight onto it. That combination is pre-war American casework practice. Post-war shine boxes went plainer and cheaper almost immediately — softwood or ply, butt joints, flat bases without shaped feet, and printed graphics — because the whole category was being cost-engineered downward.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoxes of this kind were made in quantity and used hard; most were thrown out when men stopped shining their own shoes at home, and the ones that survive rarely keep their label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eShoe shine box\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOrigin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGriffin, founded Brooklyn, New York; the ShineMaster was Griffin's household shine box\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRectangular oak chest with box-jointed corners, brass-hinged lid, shaped foot rest fixed to the lid, and arched shaped feet; fitted interior for polish and brushes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSolid oak with brass hinges and a paper label\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOriginal paper label to the front: a griffin device with GRIFFIN over SHINEMASTER\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1925–1950\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVery good. The box is solid and square with every box joint tight and no splits, and the lid closes true on hinges that work smoothly. The foot rest is firmly fixed with no movement. The oak shows a warm mellow surface with light handling wear and scattered marks consistent with use. The original paper label is present and legible with minor edge loss and toning. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse it for its original purpose if you own leather shoes, and the case makes itself: the foot rest is genuinely better than balancing a shoe on your knee, the interior holds tins and brushes where you can find them, and the whole kit closes into one carryable box. There is no modern equivalent that is not plastic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you never polish a shoe, it is still a well-made oak box with visible joinery and a graphic label, and it does the things well-made boxes do. It holds mail on an entry table, remotes beside a sofa, or keys and dog leads by the door, and the foot rest doubles as a handle. Left closed on a shelf it reads as a piece of American commercial design rather than storage. A note on care: keep it dry and out of direct sun, which will fade the label faster than anything else will damage the oak. Dust it and wax it once a year with a clear paste wax; do not oil it and do not strip it, and if the label lifts at an edge, leave it alone rather than gluing it — an intact original label is most of what separates this from a plain wooden box.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48021686616169,"sku":null,"price":312.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/IMG_3437.jpg?v=1788927224","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/griffin-shinemaster-oak-shoe-shine-box-with-original-lithographed-label-and-fitted-foot-rest-c-1925-1950","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}