{"product_id":"remarkable-art-deco-style-depression-era-american-tramp-art-pyramidal-or-stepped-box","title":"remarkable art deco style depression era american tramp art pyramidal or stepped box","description":"truly stunning art deco depression era american tramp art box comprised of layered wood used from multiple cigar boxes. the stepped or pyramidal shaped box retains the original finish, consisting of a brown textured paint with red enamel accent. artist unknown. found in chicago. \"tramp\" is considered a type of folk art. in america it was primarily made from the end of the civil war through the 1930's. it comes from carving and decorating methods which are much older, originating mostly from germany and scandinavia. \"trampen\" probably refers to the itinerant stages of middle ages craft apprenticeship. the carving techniques were also used for practice. tramp art was spread by soldiers in the civil war, and primarily practiced where there was a plentiful and free supply of materials. it is generally incorrect that this work was done by tramps or hobos as payment for room or meals. there were no rules for constructing the pieces; materials were whatever the carver had available; decorations were whatever he could produce or find. within the context of his own imagination, experience, and abilities, the carver assimilated what he saw with what he had to work with. he then translated and created what he saw into works of art by using his pocketknife and the ever-present cigar box, which was a major factor in the production of tramp art. in the 1850's, the wooden cigar box came into use both in the united states and europe. since it was difficult to ship cigars cheaply and easily for packing into boxes, wherever cigars were made, cigar boxes were made nearby. at the turn of the twentieth century, cigar smoking was at its height because cigars were considered symbols of masculinity and affluence. success bred competition, and competition meant advertising. as a result, cigars were magnificently boxed. revenue laws did not permit the boxes to be used a second time for cigars, so enterprising souls found new uses for the boxes. since the boxes were plentiful and easily carved, ornamenting them by chip carving became popular. this technique of chip carving consisted of notching and layering, with each succeeding layer being a little smaller than the preceding one, to create a pyramidal design. one cigar box or many cigar boxes could be used for the frame of the piece as well as performing the decorative function. either way, the carver had to have a great deal of time and patience to create his finished product. he had to notch-carve each individual piece of wood many times. then he had to layer the individual notch-carved pieces of wood into some kind of recognizable object. one of the most fascinating aspects of tramp art is the evident desire of the carver to produce detailed and often very skilled work with only make-do and simple tools. this layering of piece upon piece was done for decorative purposes, because it was felt that many layers of wood were more interesting than one.","brand":"vendor-unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50668945834282,"sku":"UR-7627-10","price":395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0959\/7075\/4858\/files\/20100801-092f_2.jpg?v=1759974518","url":"https:\/\/urbanremainschicago.com\/products\/remarkable-art-deco-style-depression-era-american-tramp-art-pyramidal-or-stepped-box","provider":"Urban Remains Chicago","version":"1.0","type":"link"}