Sweet and Son, Providence RI, Late 19th c. Handcut Stencil tiny sketchbook and these old shoe-shaped snuff

and these old shoe-shaped snuff boxes are such wonderful

" "from purity of thought all pleasure springs

Nice weight smooth board

with the canvas stapled right to the edges of the frame--stapled before it was painted I believe

which has been painted with black and white enamel

Sweet and Son, Providence RI, Late 19th c. Handcut Stencil tiny sketchbook and these old shoe-shaped snuffI love an old stencil, particularly ones that stand on their own as interesting objects, and particularly ones incorporating good words language that makes them resonate beyond their original function. Here, in addition to being a nice little piece of Providence, RI history (Sweet appears to have opened in 1840 as a manufacturer and wholesale dealer of dry goods, first as J. B Sweet then becoming "Sweet & Son" with the addition of S. S. Sweet, the