The Sullivan Box is a straw applique box created around 1760-1780. It was owned by a man who travelled as a wine merchant from England to Italy. It is difficult to know if it was made in either place as both areas of the world had thriving industries that could have produced it. Boxes like these were very common to the times and were often used as courting gestures. When a prospective suitor wanted his sweetheart to remember him, he would incorporate certain messages into the folk motifs upon the box. Certain flowers were representative of certain feelings, such as roses for remembrance and lilies for faith in love. This box additionally contains a bouquet of grapes and grape leaves, which were supposed to indicate a promise of joy and abundance. Inside the box are additional flowers and the scene of a small merchant ship leaving harbor from one country, while underneath returning to another. This according to the family that owned it was said to mean a promise of return. This box was acquire through funds donated by the following: California Wheat Weavers Guild Susan Redpath and Sandy Bakken, Pat Burnell, Sandy Fleck, Donna Hall, Kelley Jones, Linda McArthur, Linda and Nancy Meeker, Carolyn Schultz, Carol Thompson and Wilda Tillmans. All information, photographs and other artwork contained in this site are Copyrighted by The American Museum of Straw Art. Reproduction of any material is prohibited without prior written permission.