Is this a recipe box?

[Niagara]

I'm probably asking in the wrong area but I'm super curious. Google AI image search is telling me it's a 19th-century Italian wooden puzzle box.



The top:




Inside: The first wooden slate is removable, the second wooden slate doesn't really move. I don't want to force it.





The bottom:

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I thought a puzzle box had some hidden compartments that were unnoticeable

unless you knew where to look, or what to shift. Wonder that the circular cutouts are for. Did something lock in place there.

The inlay on the lid looks Italian, typical Venetian with lacquer over.

[Niagara]

3. It's a recent purchase. I bought it because I thought it was a recipe box

Vintage recipe boxes are so overpriced on Ebay and Poshmark.

It does have a tiny keyhole in the front but it didn't come with a key.

I've never seen a picture type recipe box. I'm not really sure what it is.

[SheltieLover]

6. I think it is likely a recipe box

Great find!

[Niagara]

8. Thank you, SheltieLover

[Figarosmom]

13. Those cutouts are so you can grsb whatever you have in there with your fingers.

Especially useful when cards are in there rather tightly. The cutouts allow you to get a finger hold further down on the paper or card instead of just the edge.

[LuckyCharms]

2. Niagara, pull out the removable slat...

and see if the bottom slides to the right or the left.

That's how those old puzzle boxes were designed, if that is indeed a puzzle box.

To me, that looks like a regular box that might have originated in Asia.

Unless you stole it from some Italian, which knowing you, you did

[Niagara]

4. I pulled out the removable slat

The bottom doesn't slide at all.

The bottom reads Pompei (that's how it's spelled) 1943 so I believe it's Italian.

I paid for it, I promise that I didn't steal it, Lucky! lol

[LuckyCharms]

5. "I paid for it, I promise"

Spoken like a true Italian box box thief!

[Niagara]

9. lol

That's a spicy meatball!!

[LuckyCharms]

10. Hahaha!

[LoisB]

7. I would think a recipe box would have more divisions. Whatever it is, it's

definitely beautiful.

[Niagara]

11. I'm still uncertain. I've never seen anything like it before, LoisB

The wooden recipe box that I've had for the last 30 years is falling apart but I bought it from the Dollar General.

Thank you!

[marble falls]

27. Protein, sides and desserts.

[Figarosmom]

12. Could be recipe

Or even a place to put bills in. One compartment foe the bills as they come in. Another for paid bills. And another for stamps and envelopes. Use it for a recipe box since that's what you bought it for. What will be, will be.😊

[Marthe48]

14. Is it bigger than a bread box?

It looks like the hinges are newer than the latch. What do you think?

It's unusual. The design reminds me of the art from Italian frescoes.

Very nice!

[Niagara]

17. It's about the same size as a recipe box

It's about 6.5" by 4". It's possible the hinges are newer. Some people have the knack for repairing items.



I definitely think it's Italian.

I found Italian tea caddies but what I found online is they generally have two separate squares inside the box.

Then I found Italian stamp boxes and Italian document boxes.

I've never seen anything like it. I've been admiring it quite a bit today!

[Marthe48]

20. When American servicemen returned home after WWII

they brought home food ideas from places they had been stationed. Soldiers stationed in the Pacific arena brought home the idea of tikis and Polynesian food. We still have popular tiki bars in larger cities. The tableware is still pretty collectible. As for the European theater, those solders brought back with them, food like pasta and pizza! Outside of Italian homes, traditional Italian food was rarely eaten. By the 1950s, spaghetti was considered a romantic meal, and Chianti bottles in their wicker cases graced many homes. With every new thing, along came home decor that complimented the new found love for Italian cooking, and other things. So it makes sense that your recipe box is 40s era and well loved. Now, your turn

People have been using recipe boxes since the 1920s, and they have their own interesting history, even if not entirely romantic.

[Niagara]

22. Interesting history here, Marthe

This is my 30 year old recipe box from the Dollar General store.

It's now falling apart and I recently put it through a coffee maker accident which didn't help it at all.

[bobalew]

15. well it has no resemblance to the green metal one my mother unceremoniouy

dropped on my head while bathing me in the kitchen sink, when I was an infant.....

[Niagara]

18. We won't drop anything on your head while bathing you in the kitchen sink, bobalew

[marble falls]

28. 'Splains everything.

[Wounded Bear]

16. No expert, but recipe box makes sense. Wonder if it was brought home in WWII?

Pompeii 1943 would fit the timeline for a young GI picking souvenirs out of the rubble or buying knick knacks from distressed locals in Italy. We went into Southern Italy at Salerno in Fall of 1943 about 30 miles from Pompeii. The artwork looks Roman to me.

They misspelled 'Que sera sera' as well.

[Niagara]

19. You're input on the WWII timeline is helpful, Wounded Bear

I certainly believe it's Italian.

I had my other half look at it and he said it was a poem or a song that he barely remembers. I did some digging on the internet. I just haven't told him yet that I found the Doris Day song. The lyrics aren't correct either. It's suppose to be "Whatever Will Be, Will Be".

One day I need an appraiser to come to my house and help me estimate and indentify my treasures!

[True Dough]

21. I know nothing about recipe boxes

But the writing underneath, is it a deliberate play on Que Sera Sera, I wonder? Looks to me like Che Sara Sara.

[Niagara]

23. Thank you, True

There's a bunch of writing errors on the bottom. It's suppose to be:


Que Sera Sera

Whatever Will Be, Will Be


Pompeii isn't spelled correctly either. Which is sort of strange timing because you recently posted about Pompeii.

[True Dough]

24. There can be no doubt about it, Niagara

I willed Pompeii to come into your life!

[Niagara]

25. You must be our DU oracle, True

What are the next jackpot winning Powerball numbers?

[True Dough]

34. Not exactly.

Since I've been in more of a historical mode, I'm thinking something along the lines of saber-toothed tigers!

[Niagara]

36. What big fangs you have

This image reminds me of a really well done documentary that had all these extinct animals in it.


I can't remember what it was called but it was interesting.

[True Dough]

37. Hope it wasn't this one:

[Niagara]

39. Not the one lol

It's an older made with CGI about the extinct ice age animals.

I believe it's called Extinct from 2001.

[Niagara]

41. I'm super tired today so please bear with me

I think this is it, if not it's very similar. I vaguely remember watching this or whatever it was on Discover or Animal Planet years ago.

[True Dough]

42. That looks...

cool?!?

[Niagara]

43. Yes

Bundle up!!!



🧤🧥

[Wiz Imp]

38. It says "che sara sara" which is the correct Italian spelling of the phrase

[marble falls]

26. If this is a recipe box, I'm betting the nude chef left frying bacon to others. ...

... if it's a suspense file for bills, he obviously has lost his/her shirt.

[Niagara]

30. Oh you!

[Bluestocking]

29. Writing "Che sara sara what shall be shall be"

on a three-sectional wooden box - often a vintage tea box, spice caddy, or trinket box - typically reflects a philosophy of acceptance, destiny, and letting go of worry over the future.

[Bluestocking]

31. A three sectional wooden box is often used to hold momentous

From different chapters of life. Past present and future or itemized caregorized by life phases

[Niagara]

32. Thank you for that info, Bluestocking

[Bluestocking]

33. Does the box have residual scent

Of tea or spices

[Niagara]

35. My nose says no

No noticeable residual scent.

[Donkees]

40. Etymology: che sara sara

My guess is that it's a love-letter keepsake box because it has a lock.

Etymology
First constructed in the 16th century for English heraldic mottos, and notably quoted as che sera sera by Christopher Marlowe in his 1604 play Doctor Faustus (Act 1, Scene 1). From standard Italian quel che sarà, sarà (“what will be, will be”), ignoring the correct spelling and grammar (according to which a pronoun such as quel, quello or ciò is compulsorily needed at the very beginning of the sentence).

Popularized by the 1956 song “Que Sera, Sera”, which adopted a Spanish-like spelling.